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sacristan - 5 dictionary results

sac⋅ris⋅tan

  [sak-ri-stuhn]
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–noun
1. Also called sac⋅rist  [sak-rist, sey-krist] . an official in charge of the sacred vessels, vestments, etc., of a church or a religious house.
2. a sexton.
Origin:
1325–75; ME < ML sacristānus, equiv. to sacrist(a) custodian of sacred objects + -ānus -an
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sac·ris·tan   (sāk'rĭ-stən)   
n.  
  1. One who is in charge of a sacristy.
  2. A sexton.

[Middle English, from Medieval Latin sacristānus, from sacrista, from Latin sacer, sacred; see sacred.]
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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Sacristan

Sac"ris*tan\, n. [F. sacristain, LL. sacrista, fr. L. sacer. See Sacred, and cf. Sexton.] An officer of the church who has the care of the utensils or movables, and of the church in general; a sexton.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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sacristan 
c.1375, from M.L. sacristanus, from L. sacrista, from sacer (gen. sacri) "sacred" (see sacred). Cf. sexton, which is a doublet.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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sacristan

a sexton (q.v.) or, more commonly, the officer of the church in charge of the sacristy and its contents, such as the sacred vessels and vestments. The person may be either someone in holy orders, as is common in a cathedral, or a lay person

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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