# eparchy

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɛpˌɑɹ.ki/

## Definitions
1. A district of the Roman Empire at the third echelon
2. A provincial government or office headed by an eparch in the Greek-speaking Eastern Roman Empire (akin to a prefecture governed by a prefect in the Latin-speaking Western Roman Empire)
3. An administrative sub-provincial unit in post-Ottoman independent Greece.
4. In pre-schism Christian Church, a province under the supervision of the metropolitan.
5. In Eastern Christendom, a diocese of a bishop.

## Etymology
Via Late Latin eparchia from Koine Greek ἐπαρχία (eparkhía, “province; prefecture”), from Ancient Greek ἔπαρχος (éparkhos, “commander, governor; prefect, eparch”) from ἐπι- (epi-, “on, upon; over”) + ἀρχός (arkhós, “ruler”); equivalent to epi- + -archy.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/eparchy