provisor

noun

pro·​vi·​sor

prəˈvīzə(r)

plural -s

1

: one having a provision especially papal to a benefice not yet vacant compare provision sense 5b

2

: one having charge of getting provisions (as for an army or a religious house) : purveyor, steward

3

obsolete : one who provides (as care, protection, sustenance) : guardian

4

: a cleric acting as an assistant to or vicar for an archbishop or bishop : an ecclesiastical deputy

Word History

Etymology

Middle English provisour, from Anglo-French, Medieval Latin, & Latin; Anglo-French provisour ecclesiastical provisor, from Medieval Latin provisor ecclesiastical provisor, guardian, administrator, from Latin, one that provides, from provisus (past participle of providēre to provide) + -or

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