The vicar of this parish.
A priest who acts for a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church is an example of a vicar.
- Archaic a person who acts in place of another; deputy
- Anglican Ch. a parish priest who is not a rector and receives a stipend instead of the tithes
- Episcopal Ch. a minister in charge of a chapel
- a church officer acting as a deputy of a bishop
- [V-] the pope, regarded as earthly representative of Christin full Vicar of (Jesus) Christ
Origin of vicarMiddle English from Old French vicaire from Classical Latin vicarius, origin, originally , vicarious from an unverified form vix (gen. vicis), a change, alteration from Indo-European an unverified form weik-, to bend, change: see weak
- a. An Anglican parish priest in a parish where historically someone other than the priest was entitled to the tithes.b. A cleric in charge of a chapel in the Episcopal Church of the United States.
- An Anglican or Roman Catholic cleric who acts for or represents another, often higher-ranking member of the clergy.
Origin of vicarMiddle English from Old French vicaire from Latin vicārius vicarious, a substitute from vicis genitive of vix change ; see weik-2 in Indo-European roots.
From Latin vicÄrius (“vicarious, substitute").