A senior officeholder in some Christian churches.
A familiar word, four lives.
combined
Greek
episkopos
‘watcher, (spiritual) overseer’
into Late Latin
Late Latin
episcopus
into Old English
Old English
bisceop
‘bishop, high priest (Jewish or pagan)’
became Middle English
Middle English
bisshop
‘an officer or dignitary of the Christian Church ranking below an archbishop’
became English
English
bishop
Greek episkopos meant an overseer. The church title travelled through Late Latin episcopus into Old English bisceop, then developed into bishop. The modern word compresses a much longer historical form.
These are selected stages, not every spelling or intermediary. The story identifies omitted links; older forms did not all disappear at once.
An ordinary-looking English spelling can conceal several lost syllables.