Dictionary

Explore meaning, context, and usage with an online dictionary experience optimized for multilingual workflows.

Clear

Try these words

Meaning of deacon

Source language: EnglishDictionary language: English

deacon

Pronunciation:/ˈdiːkən/

noun

Definitions

  1. (Church history) A designated minister of charity in the early Church (see Acts 6:1-6).

  2. (Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism) A clergyman ranked directly below a priest, with duties of helping the priests and carrying out parish work.

  3. Free Churches: A lay leader of a congregation who assists the pastor.

  4. Anglicanism: An ordained clergyman usually serving a year prior to being ordained presbyter, though in some cases they remain a permanent deacon.

verb

Definitions

  1. For a choir leader to lead a hymn by speaking one or two lines at a time, which are then sung by the choir.

  2. (animal husbandry) To kill a calf shortly after birth.

  3. To place fresh fruit at the top of a barrel or other container, with spoiled or imperfect fruit hidden beneath.

  4. To make sly alterations to the boundaries of (land); to adulterate or doctor (an article to be sold), etc.