Presbyter - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

pres·by·ter

Audio Help [prez-bi-ter, pres-] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	(in the early Christian church) an office bearer who exercised teaching, priestly, and administrative functions.

2.	(in hierarchical churches) a priest.

3.	an elder in a Presbyterian church.

[Origin: 1590–1600; < LL, n. use of the adj.: older < Gk presbýteros, equiv. to présby(s) old + -teros comp. suffix

]

—Related forms

pres·byt·er·al

Audio Help [prez-bit-er-uh

l, pres-] Pronunciation Key, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Presbyter

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

pres·by·ter Audio Help (prěz'bĭ-tər, prěs'-) Pronunciation Key
n.

A priest in various hierarchical churches.
1. A teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church.
2. A ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church.
An elder of the congregation in the early Christian church.

[Late Latin, from Greek presbuteros, from comparative of presbus, old man; see per¹ in Indo-European roots.]

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