vicar

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

vicar

/ˈvɪkɚ/ US

Rhymes with -ɪkə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English vicar, viker, vikyr, vicaire, vicare, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman vikare, vicare, vikaire, vikere and Old French vicaire (“deputy, second in command”), from Latin vicārius (“vicarious, substitute”). Doublet of vicarious. Displaced native Old English ġespelia.

noun vicars · vic.

In the Church of England, the priest of a parish, receiving a salary or stipend but not tithes. Near-synonyms: priest, rector, curate
Similar: priest, rector, curate
In the Roman Catholic and some other churches, a cleric acting as local representative of a higher ranking member of the clergy.
A person acting on behalf of, or representing, another person. Near-synonyms: proxy, representative, agent
Similar: proxy, representative, agent

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: parson, bishop, clergyman, priest, reverend, preacher, capitular, apostolic, choral, rev, pastor, shepherd, pasteur, minister, rector, curate

Translations

Every language

noun lower-ranking priest

Español	vicario, vicaria
中文	教區牧師 /教区牧师 jiàoqū mùshī
Français	curé
Deutsch	Vikar
Русский	вика́рий vikárij, приходской свяще́нник prixodskoj svjaščénnik

noun local representative of higher-ranking member of clergy

Español	vicario
中文	代牧 dàimù
Português	vigário
Français	vicaire
Русский	вика́рий vikárij, наме́стник naméstnik

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"vicar." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/vicar. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

vicar. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/vicar

Chicago

"vicar." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/vicar.

BibTeX

@misc{vicar_2026,
  title = {vicar},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/vicar},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}