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presbyter

 - 3 dictionary results

pres⋅by⋅ter

  [prez-bi-ter, pres-]
Use presbyter in a Sentence
–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  [prez-bit-er-uhl, pres-] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pres·by·ter   (prěz'bĭ-tər, prěs'-)   
n.  

  1. A priest in various hierarchical churches.

    1. A teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church.

    2. A ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church.

  3. 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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

presbyter

(from Greek presbyteros, "elder"), an officer or minister in the early Christian Church intermediate between bishop and deacon or, in modern Presbyterianism, an alternative name for elder. The word presbyter is etymologically the original form of "priest."

Learn more about presbyter with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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