sexton

[ sek-stuhn ]

noun
  1. an official of a church charged with taking care of the edifice and its contents, ringing the bell, etc., and sometimes with burying the dead.

  2. an official who maintains a synagogue and its religious articles, chants the designated portion of the Torah on prescribed days, and assists the cantor in conducting services on festivals.

Origin of sexton

1
1275–1325; Middle English sexteyn, sekesteyn, syncopated variant of segerstane, secristeyn<Anglo-French segerstainesacristan

Other words from sexton

  • sex·ton·ship, noun
  • un·der·sex·ton, noun

Words that may be confused with sexton

Other definitions for Sexton (2 of 2)

Sexton
[ sek-stuhn ]

noun
  1. Anne (Harvey), 1928–74, U.S. poet.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sexton in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sexton

sexton

/ (ˈsɛkstən) /


noun
  1. a person employed to act as caretaker of a church and its contents and graveyard, and often also as bell-ringer, gravedigger, etc

  2. another name for the burying beetle

Origin of sexton

1
C14: from Old French secrestein, from Medieval Latin sacristānus sacristan

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012