Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Used formerly as a title for a priest holding first rank among the members of a cathedral chapter, acting as chief assistant to a bishop.
  • noun An honorific title applied to a priest, which may be accompanied by a specific function.
  • noun Eastern Orthodox Church The highest rank a married priest can hold.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Eccles., the chief among the priests, called by the Greeks protopresbyter, and later protopope.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A chief priest; also, a kind of vicar, or a rural dean.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The highest rank given to a married priest.
  • noun Roman Catholic Church An honorific title applied to a priest who has a specific function.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a senior clergyman and dignitary

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English archeprest, from Old French archeprestre, from Late Latin archipresbyter, from Late Greek arkhipresbuteros : Greek arkhi-, archi- + Greek presbuteros, priest; see presbyter.]

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