prelatism

[ prel-uh-tiz-uhm ]

noun

1. prelacy; episcopacy.

prelatism

/ ˈprɛləˌtɪzəm /

noun

1. government of the Church by prelates; episcopacy

Derived Forms

• ˈprelatist, noun

Other Words From

• prela·tist noun
• anti·prela·tism noun
• anti·prela·tist noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of prelatism¹

First recorded in 1605–15; prelate + -ism

Example Sentences

The Philistines have triumphed, lords sit "lordly in their wine" at Whitehall, the Dagon of prelatism is once more enthroned throughout the land, the saints are dispersed and forsaken, and he himself, who had as he thought so signally borne his witness for God, sits blind and sad in his lonely house, "to visitants a gaze Or pitied object," with no hope left of high service to his country and no prospect but that of a "contemptible old age obscure."

From Project Gutenberg