suffragan. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

suffragan

SYLLABICATION:	suf·fra·gan
PRONUNCIATION:	sfr-gn
NOUN:	abbr. Suff. or Suffr. 1. A bishop elected or appointed as an assistant to the bishop or ordinary of a diocese, having administrative and episcopal responsibilities but no jurisdictional functions. 2. A bishop regarded in position as subordinate to an archbishop or a metropolitan.
ADJECTIVE:	Of, being, or relating to a suffragan.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin suffrgneus, voting, supporting, from Latin suffrgium, support, right to vote, from suffrgr, to express support. See bhreg- in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:	suffra·gan·ship —NOUN


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.