Episcopalian

See also: episcopalian

English

Etymology

From Episcopal +‎ -ian.

Noun

Episcopalian (plural Episcopalians)

1. An adherent of an Anglican church, especially the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, or the Anglican churches in the Philippines, western Asia, South Sudan, the Horn of Africa, and most of north Africa.

   Synonym: (nonstandard) Episcopal

   Hypernym: Anglican

   I was raised an Episcopalian but no longer belong to a church.

2. (now uncommon) Alternative letter-case form of episcopalian.

Adjective

Episcopalian (not generally comparable, comparative more Episcopalian, superlative most Episcopalian)

1. (somewhat nonstandard) Of or relating to Anglicanism or an Anglican church, especially the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, or the Anglican churches in the Philippines, western Asia, South Sudan, the Horn of Africa, and most of north Africa.

   Synonym: Episcopal

   Hypernym: Anglican

2. (now uncommon) Alternative letter-case form of episcopalian.

Usage notes

• The noun Episcopalian is typically used to refer to individual adherents of Episcopal churches, whereas Episcopal normally serves only as an adjective. While the adjectival use of Episcopalian has become more frequent in recent years, authorities generally regard it as nonstandard and it remains uncommon in formal contexts.

References

• Donald S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, editors (2000), “Episcopalian”, in An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: A User-Friendly Reference for Episcopalians, New York: Church Publishing, →ISBN, page 186.
• Paula Froke, Anna Jo Bratton, Jeff McMillan, Pia Sarkar, Jerry Schwartz, and Raghuram Vadarevu, editors (2020), The Associated Press Stylebook, 55th edition, Associated Press.
• Bryan A. Garner (2016) Garner's Modern English Usage, 4th edition, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 340.