Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A high-ranking member of the clergy, especially a bishop.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An ecclesiastic of a higher order, having direct and not delegated authority over other ecclesiastics.
- To act as a prelate; perform the duties of a prelate.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A clergyman of a superior order, as an archbishop or a bishop, having authority over the lower clergy; a dignitary of the church.
- intransitive verb obsolete To act as a prelate.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
clergyman of high rank and authority, havingjurisdiction over anarea or a group ofpeople ; normally abishop . - verb obsolete To act as a prelate.
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
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Tonsures and minor orders (the officiating prelate is H.E. Msgr. Basil Meeking, Bishop emeritus of Christchurch, New Zealand):
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Another Latin American prelate makes clear what happens to pro-abortion politicians
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The plump shadowed face and sullen oval jowl recalled a prelate, patron of arts in the middle ages.
Miguel Cohen’s “Ulysses,” Part 2 : Edward Champion’s Reluctant Habits 2004
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The plump shadowed face and sullen oval jowl recalled a prelate, patron of arts in the middle ages.
Ulysses 2003
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The prelate was a man of a kindly disposition, and did not hesitate, in reply to a petition of the
The Rise of the Hugenots, Vol. 1 (of 2) Henry Martyn Baird
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Reply Obj. 4: Augustine means that the matter ought to be made known to the prelate before it is stated to the witnesses, in so far as the prelate is a private individual who is able to be of more use than others, but not that it is to be told him as to the Church, i.e. as holding the position of judge.
Summa Theologica, Part II-II (Secunda Secundae) Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province Aquinas Thomas
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Bernard Mac Mahon (1737-47), then Bishop of Clogher, who is described as a prelate remarkable for zeal, charity, prudence, and sound doctrine.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 1: Aachen-Assize 1840-1916 1913
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The plump shadowed face and sullen oval jowl recalled a prelate, patron of arts in the middle ages.
Ulysses James Joyce 1911
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There were at least two men in Ugolini: the Christian, who felt himself subdued before Clara and Francis; the prelate, that is, a man whom the glory of the Church sometimes caused to forget the glory of God.
Life of St. Francis of Assisi Paul Sabatier 1893
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On the shoulders of a prelate was the purple that had dazzled the world.
Imperial Purple Edgar Saltus 1889
Prolagus commented on the word prelate
On time.
April 4, 2009
reesetee commented on the word prelate
Heehee!
April 5, 2009
sionnach commented on the word prelate
See bitterly.
April 5, 2009