the con fessor

noun

a person who confesses.

a priest authorized to hear confessions.

a person who confesses faith in and adheres to the Christian religion, especially in spite of persecution and torture but without suffering martyrdom.

the Confessor, Edward the Confessor.

Also, con·fess·er.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English, Old English (in pl: confessores) < Late Latin; see confess, -tor

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

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World English Dictionary

confessor (kənˈfɛsə)

—n
1.	chiefly Christianity, RC Church a priest who hears confessions and sometimes acts as a spiritual counsellor
2.	history a person who bears witness to his Christian religious faith by the holiness of his life, esp in resisting threats or danger, but does not suffer martyrdom
3.	a person who makes a confession

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

confessor

late O.E., "one who avows his religion," especially in the face of danger, but does not suffer martyrdom, from L. confessor, agent noun from confiteri (see confess). Meaning "one who hears confessions" is from 1340; this properly would be L. confessarius, but L. confessor

was being used in this sense from the 9th century. Edward the Confessor (c.1003-1066, canonized 1161), last Anglo-Saxon king, was pious enough but does not seem to fit his title; perhaps so called to distinguish him from another Anglo-Saxon saint/king, Edward the Martyr, who does.

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the con fessor

con·fes·sor