Adjacent Words

Deaconess definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DE'ACONESS, n. A female deacon in the primitive church.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a woman deacon

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 15th century a woman chosen to assist in the church ministry; specifically one in a Protestant order

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. a woman in the early Church and in some modern Churches with functions analogous to a deacon's. Etymology: DEACON, after LL diaconissa

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Deaconess Dea"con*ess, n. (Eccl.) A female deacon; as: (a) (Primitive Ch.) One of an order of women whose duties resembled those of deacons. (b) (Ch. of Eng. and Prot. Epis. Ch.) A woman set apart for church work by a bishop. (c) A woman chosen as a helper in church work, as among the Congregationalists.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Rom. 16:1, 3, 12; Phil. 4:2, 3; 1 Tim. 3:11; 5:9, 10; Titus 2:3, 4). In these passages it is evident that females were then engaged in various Christian ministrations. Pliny makes mention of them also in his letter to Trajan (A.D. 110).