E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Prel’ate
means simply a man preferred, a man promoted to an ecclesiastical office which gives him jurisdiction over other clergymen. Cardinals, bishops, abbots, and archdeacons were at one time so called, but the term is restricted in the Protestant Church to bishops. (Latin, prœfero, prœlatus.)
