Dictionary

suffragan en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈsə.fɹə.ɡən/ (US)
• /ˈsʌ.fɹə.ɡən/ (UK)
• (UK) audio

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman, Old French suffragam, from (the stem of) Latin suffrāgium (“suffrage”).

Meanings

1. A bishop seen in relation to his archbishop or metropolitan province (which may summon him for support, to attend synods etc.).
   • Now take your hors said sir Tristram And as ye say / soo hit shal be / and alle thyn euylle wil god forgyue it yow and I doo / And here within this myle is the suffrecan of Carleil that shalle gyue yow the sacrament of baptym 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “xiiij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XII:
2. An auxiliary bishop.
   • A suffragan could share the tasks which were special to bishops; for example, by conducting confirmations. 2015, GR Evans, Edward Hicks: Pacifist Bishop at War:
   • One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.” 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter III, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

suffraganship

Relateds

suburbicarian · coadjutor bishop