Minister
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min⋅is⋅ter
[min-uh-ster] 
| 1. | a person authorized to conduct religious worship; member of the clergy; pastor. |
| 2. | a person authorized to administer sacraments, as at Mass. |
| 3. | a person appointed by or under the authority of a sovereign or head of a government to some high office of state, esp. to that of head of an administrative department: the minister of finance. |
| 4. | a diplomatic representative accredited by one government to another and ranking next below an ambassador. Compare envoy 1 (def. 1). |
| 5. | a person acting as the agent or instrument of another. |
| 6. | to administer or apply: to minister the last rites. |
| 7. | Archaic. to furnish; supply. |
| 8. | to perform the functions of a religious minister. |
| 9. | to give service, care, or aid; attend, as to wants or necessities.: to minister to the needs of the hungry. |
| 10. | to contribute, as to comfort or happiness. |
1250–1300; (n.) ME ministre, minister (< OF ministre) < L minister servant, equiv. to minis- (var. of minus a lesser amount; akin to minor minor ) + -ter n. suffix; r. ME menistre < OF < L, as above; (v.) ME ministren < OF ministrer < L ministrāre to act as a servant, attend, deriv. of minister
9. answer, tend, oblige.
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| min·is·ter (mĭn'ĭ-stər) n. Abbr. Min.
v. intr.
To administer or dispense (a sacrament, for example). [Middle English, from Old French ministre, from Latin minister, servant; see mei-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
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Minister
Min"is*ter\, n. [OE. ministre, F. ministre, fr. L. minister, orig. a double comparative from the root of minor less, and hence meaning, an inferior, a servant. See 1st Minor, and cf. Master, Minstrel.]1. A servant; a subordinate; an officer or assistant of inferior rank; hence, an agent, an instrument. Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua. --Ex. xxiv. 13. I chose Camillo for the minister, to poison My friend Polixenes. --Shak. 2. An officer of justice. [Obs.] I cry out the on the ministres, quod he, That shoulde keep and rule this cit['e]. --Chaucer. 3. One to whom the sovereign or executive head of a government intrusts the management of affairs of state, or some department of such affairs. Ministers to kings, whose eyes, ears, and hands they are, must be answerable to God and man. --Bacon. 4. A representative of a government, sent to the court, or seat of government, of a foreign nation to transact diplomatic business. Note: Ambassadors are classed (in the diplomatic sense) in the first rank of public ministers, ministers plenipotentiary in the second. "The United States diplomatic service employs two classes of ministers, -- ministers plenipotentiary and ministers resident." --Abbott. 5. One who serves at the altar; one who performs sacerdotal duties; the pastor of a church duly authorized or licensed to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments. --Addison. Syn: Delegate; official; ambassador; clergyman; parson; priest.Minister
Min"is*ter\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ministered; p. pr. & vb. n. Ministering.] [OE. ministren, OF. ministrer, fr. L. ministrare. See Minister, n.] To furnish or apply; to afford; to supply; to administer. He that ministereth seed to the sower. --2 Cor. ix. 10. We minister to God reason to suspect us. --Jer. Taylor.Minister
Min"is*ter\, v. i. 1. To act as a servant, attendant, or agent; to attend and serve; to perform service in any office, sacred or secular. The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. --Matt. xx. 28. 2. To supply or to things needful; esp., to supply consolation or remedies. --Matt. xxv. 44. Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased? --Shak.Cite This Source
minister
In many Protestant churches, the presiding clergyman. Ministers preach sermons; conduct services; officiate at baptisms, weddings, and funerals; and generally look after the needs of their congregation. Some Protestant churches refer to their clergy as pastors or preachers rather than ministers.
minister
A title used in many countries for members of cabinets and similar public officials, who are roughly equivalent to the officials in the United States cabinet. For example, a minister of foreign affairs will have duties similar to those of the secretary of state of the United States.
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minister
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Minister
one who serves, as distinguished from the master. (1.) Heb. meshereth, applied to an attendant on one of superior rank, as to Joshua, the servant of Moses (Ex. 33:11), and to the servant of Elisha (2 Kings 4:43). This name is also given to attendants at court (2 Chr. 22:8), and to the priests and Levites (Jer. 33:21; Ezek. 44:11). (2.) Heb. pelah (Ezra 7:24), a "minister" of religion. Here used of that class of sanctuary servants called "Solomon's servants" in Ezra 2:55-58 and Neh. 7:57-60. (3.) Greek leitourgos, a subordinate public administrator, and in this sense applied to magistrates (Rom. 13:6). It is applied also to our Lord (Heb. 8:2), and to Paul in relation to Christ (Rom. 15:16). (4.) Greek hyperetes (literally, "under-rower"), a personal attendant on a superior, thus of the person who waited on the officiating priest in the synagogue (Luke 4:20). It is applied also to John Mark, the attendant on Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:5). (5.) Greek diaconos, usually a subordinate officer or assistant employed in relation to the ministry of the gospel, as to Paul and Apollos (1 Cor. 3:5), Tychicus (Eph. 6:21), Epaphras (Col. 1:7), Timothy (1 Thess. 3:2), and also to Christ (Rom. 15:8).
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