bisháop [bsh?p] (plural bisháops) noun 1. senior Christian cleric: a senior Christian cleric, especially in the Roman Catholic, Episcopal, and Orthodox churches, who is in charge of the spiritual life and administration of a particular region diocese 2. chess piece: a chess piece that can be moved diagonally across the board over any number of squares of the same color [ Old English biscop, via Germanic < variant of Latin episcopus "bishop, overseer" < Greek episkopos "overseer" < skopos "watcher"]