sexton
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.
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
1Other 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)
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
By undersexton was understood at that time gravedigger and bearer of the dead.
A Journal of the Plague Year | Daniel Defoe
British Dictionary definitions for sexton
/ (ˈsɛkstən) /
a person employed to act as caretaker of a church and its contents and graveyard, and often also as bell-ringer, gravedigger, etc
another name for the burying beetle
Origin of sexton
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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