Adjacent Words

Prelacy definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PRE'LACY, n. [from prelate.] The office or dignity of a prelate.
Prelacies may be termed the greater benefices.
1. Episcopacy; the order of bishops.
How many are there that call themselves protestants, who put prelacy and popery together as terms convertible?
2. Bishops, collectively.
Divers of the reverend prelacy.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: prelates collectively [syn: prelacy, prelature]
2: the office or station of a prelate [syn: prelacy, prelature]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -cies) Date: 14th century 1. the office or dignity of a prelate 2. episcopal church government

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) 1 church government by prelates. 2 (prec. by the) prelates collectively. 3 the office or rank of prelate. Etymology: ME f. AF prelacie f. med.L prelatia (as PRELATE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prelacy Prel"a*cy, n.; pl. Prelacies. [LL. praelatia. See Prelate; cf. Prelaty.] 1. The office or dignity of a prelate; church government by prelates. Prelacies may be termed the greater benefices. --Ayliffe. 2. The order of prelates, taken collectively; the body of ecclesiastical dignitaries. ``Divers of the reverend prelacy, and other most judicious men.'' --Hooker.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Office of prelate, prelateship, prelature, episcopal office. 2. Episcopacy, prelatism, hierarchy, hierarchism, hierocracy.