Monsignor

a prelate with a rank or title that is usually conferred by the Pope

Not to be confused with:

Monseigneur – a French title of honor or respect given to princes and prelates

Mon·si·gnor

also mon·si·gnor (mŏn-sēn′yər)

n. Roman Catholic Church

1. A title conferred by the pope on a high-ranking male cleric, such as a protonotary apostolic.

2. A cleric holding such a title.

3. Abbr. Msgr. or Mgr. Used as a form of address prefixed to the name of such a cleric.

[Italian, from French Monseigneur; see Monseigneur.]

Mon′si·gnor′i·al (mŏn′sēn-yôr′ē-əl) adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Monsignor

(mɒnˈsiːnjə; Italian monsiɲˈɲor)

n, pl Monsignors or Monsignori (Italian monsiɲˈɲoːri)

(Roman Catholic Church) RC Church an ecclesiastical title attached to certain offices or distinctions usually bestowed by the Pope. Abbreviation: Mgr or Msgr

[C17: from Italian, from French Monseigneur]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mon•si•gnor

(mɒnˈsi nyər, ˌmɒn siˈnyɔr)

n., pl. mon•si•gnors, mon•si•gno•ri (ˌmɔn siˈnyɔr i)

1. a title conferred upon certain Roman Catholic prelates.

2. a person bearing this title.

[1635–45; < Italian < French Monseigneur monseigneur; see signor]

mon`si•gno′ri•al, adj.

Monsignor

An Italian word meaning my lord, used as a title for some members of the Roman Catholic clergy.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

Monsignor - (Roman Catholic Church) an ecclesiastical title of honor bestowed on some priests

Church of Rome, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Church, Western Church, Roman Catholic - the Christian Church based in the Vatican and presided over by a pope and an episcopal hierarchy

priest - a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders

Translations

monsignore

monsignor

[mɒnˈsiːnjəʳ] N (monsignors or monsignori (pl)) → monseñor m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

Monsignor

[mɒnˈsiːnjə^r] n → monsignore m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Monsignor

n → Monsignore m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

They did so as soon as I told them the story of how once I threatened to spit into Monsignor's coffee."

As I was thus engaged I heard some one enter an adjoining room and ask for Monsignor; after which I saw the sacristan make a low bow to the visitor, and then another bow as the visitor took his leave.

Thereupon I declared that I was a heretic and a barbarian--"Je suis heretique et barbare," I said, "and that these archbishops and cardinals and monsignors, and the rest of them, meant nothing at all to me.

View in context

Monsignor Giulio Mazarini economized the traveling expenses of his guards; he consequently used the king's, and that largely, since he took fifty of them for himself -- a peculiarity which would not have failed to strike any one unacquainted with the usages of that court.

View in context

There is a fine mediaeval flavor to this story, and as it has not been traced back further than Pere Brateille, a pious but obscure writer at the court of Saint Louis, we shall probably not err on the side of presumption in considering it apocryphal, though Monsignor Capel's judgment of the matter might be different; and to that I bow -- wow.

View in context

South Bank born Right Reverend Monsignor Canon Kevin Coughlan, who had retired from active ministry, died earlier this month.

Tribute after death of priest

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican has frozen the assets of a monsignor who was arrested in a 20 million euro ($26 million) money smuggling plot and warned that other people may be caught up in the investigation.

Vatican freezes assets of arrested monsignor

Monsignor Robert McDonald was parish priest of St Mary's Inverness from 1995 until his retirement in 2006.

Priest served parishes across north of Scotland; FAMILY NOTICES