Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

minister

 - 6 dictionary results

min⋅is⋅ter

[min-uh-ster]
–noun
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.
–verb (used with object)
6. to administer or apply: to minister the last rites.
7. Archaic. to furnish; supply.
–verb (used without object)
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.

Origin:
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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To minister
min·is·ter   (mĭn'ĭ-stər)   
n.   Abbr. Min.
    1. One who is authorized to perform religious functions in a Christian church, especially a Protestant church.

    2. Roman Catholic Church The superior in certain orders.

  1. A high officer of state appointed to head an executive or administrative department of government.

  2. An authorized diplomatic representative of a government, usually ranking next below an ambassador.

  3. A person serving as an agent for another by carrying out specified orders or functions.

v.   min·is·tered, min·is·ter·ing, min·is·ters

v.   intr.
  1. To attend to the wants and needs of others: Volunteers ministered to the homeless after the flood. See Synonyms at tend2.

  2. To perform the functions of a cleric.

v.   tr.
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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

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.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

minister 
1297, "one who acts upon the authority of another," from O.Fr. ministre "servant," from L. minister (gen. ministri) "servant, priest's assistant" (in M.L. "priest"), from minus, minor "less," hence "subordinate," + comp. suffix *-teros. Meaning "priest" is attested in Eng. from c.1315. Political sense of "high officer of the state" is attested from 1625, from notion of "service to the crown." The verb is from c.1300, originally "to serve (food or drink)."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Bible Dictionary

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).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Cite This Source
Search another word or see minister on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: