Suffraganean

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Of or pertaining to a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan or archbishop within an ecclesiastical province
2. Concerning a bishop subject to the authority of an archbishop, or the diocese under such a bishop's jurisdiction
3. Belonging to or characteristic of a suffragan see or the episcopal hierarchy below the metropolitan level

Etymology: The title suffragan belongs to a bishop who assists a diocesan bishop. It comes from the Medieval Latin "suffraganeus," an adjective meaning helping or auxiliary, which English took up for the church office. The root is "suffragium," the Latin word for a vote or public support. The same root gives English "suffrage," the right to vote, so a church helper and a voter share an ancestor. "Suffraganean" is the adjectival form, describing something that belongs to or resembles a suffragan bishop. It is a rare word, mostly confined to church writing.