Wordnet 3.0
NOUN (3)
1.
a Roman Catholic priest who acts for another higher-ranking clergyman;
2.
(Episcopal Church) a clergyman in charge of a chapel;
3.
(Church of England) a clergyman appointed to act as priest of a parish;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Vicar \Vic"ar\ (v[i^]k"[~e]r), n. [OE. vicar, viker, vicair, F.
vicaire, fr. L. vicarius. See Vicarious.]
1. One deputed or authorized to perform the functions of
another; a substitute in office; a deputy. [R.]
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2. (Eng. Eccl. Law) The incumbent of an appropriated
benefice.
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Note: The distinction between a parson [or rector] and vicar
is this: The parson has, for the most part, the whole
right to the ecclesiastical dues in his parish; but a
vicar has generally an appropriator over him, entitled
to the best part of the profits, to whom he is in fact
perpetual curate with a standing salary. --Burrill.
[1913 Webster]
Apostolic vicar, or Vicar apostolic. (R. C. Ch.)
(a) A bishop to whom the Roman pontiff delegates a portion
of his jurisdiction.
(b) Any ecclesiastic acting under a papal brief,
commissioned to exercise episcopal authority.
(c) A titular bishop in a country where there is no
episcopal see, or where the succession has been
interrupted.
Vicar forane. [Cf. LL. foraneus situated outside of the
episcopal city, rural. See Vicar, and Foreign.] (R. C.
Ch.) A dignitary or parish priest appointed by a bishop to
exercise a limited jurisdiction in a particular town or
district of a diocese. --Addis & Arnold.
Vicar-general.
(a) (Ch. of Eng.) The deputy of the Archbishop of
Canterbury or York, in whose court the bishops of the
province are confirmed. --Encyc. Brit.
(b) (R. C. Ch.) An assistant to a bishop in the discharge
of his official functions.
Vicar of Jesus Christ (R. C. Ch.), the pope as representing
Christ on earth.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
vicar
n 1: a Roman Catholic priest who acts for another higher-ranking
clergyman
2: (Episcopal Church) a clergyman in charge of a chapel
3: (Church of England) a clergyman appointed to act as priest of
a parish
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
112 Moby Thesaurus words for "vicar":
Grand Penitentiary, Holy Father, abuna, advocate, agent, alter ego,
alternate, alternative, amicus curiae, analogy, antipope,
archbishop, archdeacon, archpriest, attorney, backup, backup man,
bishop, bishop coadjutor, canon, cardinal, cardinal bishop,
cardinal deacon, cardinal priest, champion, change, changeling,
chaplain, coadjutor, comparison, copy, counterfeit, curate, dean,
deputy, diocesan, double, dummy, ecclesiarch, equal, equivalent,
ersatz, exarch, exchange, executive officer, exponent, fake,
figurehead, fill-in, ghost, ghostwriter, hierarch, high priest,
imitation, lieutenant, locum, locum tenens, makeshift, metaphor,
metonymy, metropolitan, next best thing, papa, paranymph,
patriarch, penitentiary, personnel, phony, pinch hitter, pleader,
pontiff, pope, prebendary, prelate, primate, procurator, proxy,
rector, relief, replacement, representative, reserves, ringer,
rural dean, second in command, second string, secondary, sign,
spares, stand-in, sub, subdean, substituent, substitute,
substitution, succedaneum, suffragan, superseder, supplanter,
surrogate, symbol, synecdoche, third string, token, understudy,
utility man, utility player, vicar general, vice, vice-president,
vice-regent, vicegerent