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Webster 1913 Edition


Prelate

Prel′ate

(?; 48)
,
Noun.
[F.
prélat
, LL.
praelatus
, fr. L.
praelatus
, used as p. p. of
praeferre
to prefer, but from a different root. See
Elate
.]
A clergyman of a superior order, as an archbishop or a bishop, having authority over the lower clergy; a dignitary of the church.
☞ This word and the words derived from it are often used invidiously, in English ecclesiastical history, by dissenters, respecting the Established Church system.
Hear him but reason in divinity, . . .
You would desire the king were made a
prelate
.
Shakespeare

Prel′ate

,
Verb.
I.
To act as a prelate.
[Obs.]
Right
prelating
is busy laboring, and not lording.
Latimer.

Webster 1828 Edition


Prelate

PRE'LATE

,
Noun.
[L. proelatus, proefero.] An ecclesiastic of the higher order, as an archbishop, bishop or patriarch; a dignitary of the church.