monsignor

UK/mɒnˈsiː.njə/US/mɑnˈsiː.njɚ/

monsignor noun: an ecclesiastic title bestowed on some Roman Catholic clerics by the Pope.

Noun (1)

monsignor (plural monsignors or monsignori)

An ecclesiastic title bestowed on some Roman Catholic clerics by the Pope.
- He goes one day to hear Father Hecker preach on the Destiny of Man, on another to hear Monsignor Pie, Bishop of Poitiers, then Archbishop Manning, and again Monsignor Mermillod and Father Burke. […] We have just made her a grand festa for her day, the 20th—twelve Masses, cardinal, two archbishops...1892, “Great Events in Rome”, in John Morris, editor, The Life of Mother Henrietta Kerr, Religious of the Sacred Heart, 3rd edition, Roehampton, pages 182 and 197
- We were passed on from one room to another, and finally came to a halt in a large square room, where there were more priests, one or two monsignori, in their violet robes, and two officers. […] We had barely time to exchange a few remarks, as Monsignor Bicletis was waiting for us to advance.1905, Mary King Waddington, “Italy Revisited”, in Italian Letters of a Diplomat’s Wife; January–May 1880; February–April, 1904, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, pages 249–250

Monsignor (plural Monsignori or Monsignors)

Alternative letter-case form of monsignor.
- Brother Matteo is a Capuchin, of course, so he eats pretty frugally: bread and water, vegetables and fruit, no meat, no cheese. And poor old Father Bechetti lost his appetite when he lost his teeth. So it’s really the three Monsignors who do the feasting.2011, Gyles Brandreth, Oscar Wilde and the Vatican Murders, London: John Murray, →ISBN, page 123
- Unlike other previous Prelates, who were swiftly anointed bishops, Francis did not follow suit. Ocáriz remained a Monsignor. In the eyes of many observers, it was a demotion of Opus Dei.2024 March 16, Antonia Cundy, “The Opus Dei diaries”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 18

ecclesiastic title bestowed on some Roman Catholic clerics by the Pope: monsenyor

ecclesiastic title bestowed on some Roman Catholic clerics by the Pope: monsinyur

ecclesiastic title bestowed on some Roman Catholic clerics by the Pope: đức ông

He wore the dress of an abbot and was accompanied by two monsignori in simple black. […] It was a letter from Monsignor Chatrousse, the Bishop of Valence in France.1955, Francis Beauchesne Thornton, Cross upon Cross: The Life of Pope Pius IX, New York, N.Y.: Benziger Brothers, Inc., pages 83 (The Pope...
He was accompanied by two monsignori, one of whom was Henry Cosgrove, an acquaintance of mine from Brooklyn. […] “It is obvious that I need no translator.1999, Francis X[avier] Murphy, “Introduction to the 1999 Edition”, in Vatican Council II, Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, →ISBN, page xii:
He had only been in office for a couple of months when the brilliant polymath, Monsignor Ivan Illich, was summoned to Rome.2001, Paul Collins, “Palazzo del Sant’Uffizio”, in From Inquisition to Freedom: Seven Prominent Catholics and Their Struggle with the...
He paid half the $850 monthly tuition, and the church monsignor covered the rest.2007 February 4, Alexis Rehrmann, “Her Parents Couldn’t Take Care of Her. This Home Could.”, in New York Times:

From Italian monsignore, from signore under influence from Middle French monseigneur. Doublet of monseigneur and monsieur.

What does monsignor mean?: Monsignor means an ecclesiastic title bestowed on some Roman Catholic clerics by the Pope.
What is monsignor in Tagalog?: Monsignor in Tagalog is monsenyor. See Monsignor meaning in Tagalog.
How do you use monsignor in a sentence?: He wore the dress of an abbot and was accompanied by two monsignori in simple black. […] It was a letter from Monsignor Chatrousse, the Bishop of Valence in France.
What part of speech is monsignor?: Monsignor is a noun.
How do you pronounce monsignor?: Monsignor is pronounced /mɒnˈsiː.njə/ (UK).
What is the plural of monsignor?: The plural of monsignor is monsignors.

Adapted from Wiktionary: monsignor (page history and authors); Monsignor (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “monsignor.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/monsignor. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.