# episcopus
## Latin
### Alternative forms

* Reconstruction:Latin/biscopu

### Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos, “overseer”), from ἐπί (epí, “over”) + σκοπός (skopós, “watcher, lookout, guardian”).

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /eˈpis.ko.pus/, [ɛˈpɪs̠kɔpʊs̠]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /eˈpis.ko.pus/, [eˈpiskopus]

### Noun

episcopus m (genitive episcopī); second declension
* (Late Latin) overseer, supervisor, bishop (in a Christian church who governs a diocese)

#### Declension

Second-declension noun.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | episcopus | episcopī |
| Genitive | episcopī | episcopōrum |
| Dative | episcopō | episcopīs |
| Accusative | episcopum | episcopōs |
| Ablative | episcopō | episcopīs |
| Vocative | episcope | episcopī |

#### Derived terms

* episcopātus

#### Descendants

* Dalmatian: pascu
* Eastern Romance:
** Romanian: piscup
* Franco-Provençal: èvèque
* Gallo-Italic:
** Piedmontese: vëscu
* Italo-Romance:
** Italian: vescovo
** Neapolitan: piscopo
** Sicilian: viscuvu, viscu
* Old French: evesque
** Middle French: evesque
*** French: évêque
**** Haitian Creole: evèk
**** → Khmer: អេវ៉េគ (ʼeeveek)
**** → Malagasy: eveka
** → Old Occitan: evesque, avesque, vesque
*** Occitan: avesque
* Old Occitan: bisbe
** Catalan: bisbe
* Rhaeto-Romance:
** Friulian: vescul
** Romansch: uvestg
* Sardinian: obíscu
* Venetian: vescovo, vesco
* West Iberian:
** Old Leonese:
*** Asturian: obispu
** Old Galician-Portuguese: bispo
*** Galician: bispo
*** Portuguese: bispo
** Old Spanish:
*** Spanish: obispo (see there for further descendants)
* → Albanian: ipeshkv, peshkop, upeshk
* → Celtic borrowings
** Proto-Brythonic: *eskob (see there for further descendants)
** Old Irish: epscop (see there for further descendants)
* → Italian: episcopo
* → Portuguese: epíscopo
* → unsorted borrowings
** Estonian: piiskop
** Hungarian: püspök (via Germanic or Slavic)
** Latvian: bīskaps
** Lithuanian: vyskupas
** Old Prussian: bīskups
** Samoan: 'epikopō
** Slovene: škof
** Yiddish: ביסקופּ (biskup)
* ⇒ Latin: *biscopu
** → Old Church Slavonic: бискоупъ (biskupŭ) (see there for further descendants)
** → Old Dutch: biskop
*** Middle Dutch: bischop
**** Dutch: bisschop (see there for further descendants)
** → Old English: bisċop, bisċeop
*** Middle English: bischop, bisschop, bisshop, byschop, bishup, busshop, bushop, busschop, bysshop, bissop, biscop, bisscopp
**** English: bishop (see there for further descendants)
**** Scots: bishop
*** → Old Norse: biskup
**** Icelandic: biskup
**** Faroese: biskupur
**** Norwegian Bokmål: biskop, bisp
**** Norwegian Nynorsk: biskop, bisp
**** Old Swedish: biskoper, biskuper
***** Swedish: biskop
***** → Finnish: piispa
**** Danish: biskop
** → Old Frisian: biskop
*** Saterland Frisian: Biskop
*** West Frisian: biskop
** → Old High German: biscof (see there for further descendants)

### Further reading

* “episcopus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* episcopus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
* episcopus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.