suffragan

[ suhf-ruh-guh n ]
/ ˈsʌf rə gən /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR suffragan ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

assisting or auxiliary to, as applied to any bishop in relation to the archbishop or metropolitan who is his superior, or as applied to an assistant or subsidiary bishop who performs episcopal functions in a diocese but has no ordinary jurisdiction, as, in the Church of England, a bishop consecrated to assist the ordinary bishop of a see in part of his diocese.
(of a see or diocese) subordinate to an archiepiscopal or metropolitan see.

noun

a suffragan bishop.

Origin of suffragan

1350–1400; Middle English suffragane < Medieval Latin suffrāgāneus voting, equivalent to suffrāg(ium) suffrage + -āneus, composite adj. suffix, equivalent to -ān(us) -an + -eus -eous

Words nearby suffragan

suffocate, suffocative goiter, suffolk, suffolk punch, suffr., suffragan, suffrage, suffragette, suffragist, suffrutescent, suffruticose

Words related to suffragan

administrator, pontiff, pope, cleric, patriarch, director, priest, prelate, metropolitan, cardinal, bishop, archpriest, angel, primate, cap, coadjutor, overseer, diocesan, archer, mitre

Example sentences from the Web for suffragan

British Dictionary definitions for suffragan

suffragan
/ (ˈsʌfrəɡən) /

adjective

  1. (of any bishop of a diocese) subordinate to and assisting his superior archbishop or metropolitan
  2. (of any assistant bishop) having the duty of assisting the bishop of the diocese to which he is appointed but having no ordinary jurisdiction in that diocese

noun

a suffragan bishop

Derived forms of suffragan

suffraganship, noun

Word Origin for suffragan

C14: from Medieval Latin suffragāneus, from suffrāgium assistance, from Latin: suffrage