Adjacent Words

Minister definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MIN'ISTER, n. [L.]
1. Properly, a chief servant; hence, an agent appointed to transact or manage business under the authority of another; in which sense, it is a word of very extensive application.
Moses rose up and his minister Joshua. Exodus 24.
2. One to whom a king or prince entrusts the direction of affairs of state; as minister of state; the prime minister. In modern governments, the secretaries or heads of the several departments or branches of government are the ministers of the chief magistrate.
3. A magistrate; an executive officer.
For he is the minister of God to thee for good. Romans 13.
4. A delegate; an embassador; the representative of a sovereign at a foreign court; usually such as is resident at a foreign court, but not restricted to such.
5. One who serves at the altar; one who performs sacerdotal duties; the pastor of a church, duly authorized or licensed to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments. Ephesians 3.
6. Christ is called a minister of the sanctuary. Hebrews 8.
7. An angel; a messenger of God.
Who maketh his angels spirits, his ministers a flaming fire. Psalms 104.
MIN'ISTER, v.t. [L. ministro.] To give; to afford; to supply.
He that ministereth seed to the sower--2 Corinthians 9.
That it may minister grace to the hearers. Ephesians 4.
MIN'ISTER, v.i. To attend and serve; to perform service in any office, sacred or secular.
I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office. Exodus 29.
1. To afford supplies; to give things needful; to supply the means of relief; to relieve.
When saw we thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Matthew 25.
2. To give medicines.
Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased?
In this sense, we commonly use administer.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a person authorized to conduct religious worship; "clergymen are usually called ministers in Protestant churches" [syn: curate, minister of religion, minister, parson, pastor, rector]
2: a person appointed to a high office in the government; "Minister of Finance" [syn: minister, government minister]
3: a diplomat representing one government to another; ranks below ambassador [syn: minister, diplomatic minister]
4: the job of a head of a government department v
1: attend to the wants and needs of others; "I have to minister to my mother all the time"
2: work as a minister; "She is ministering in an old parish"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English ministre, from Anglo-French, from Latin minister servant; akin to Latin minor smaller Date: 14th century 1. agent 2. a. one officiating or assisting the officiant in church worship b. a clergyman especially of a Protestant communion 3. a. the superior of one of several religious orders — called also minister-general b. the assistant to the rector or the bursar of a Jesuit house 4. a high officer of state entrusted with the management of a division of governmental activities 5. a. a diplomatic representative (as an ambassador) accredited to the court or seat of government of a foreign state b. a diplomatic representative ranking below an ambassador II. intransitive verb (-tered; ministering) Date: 14th century 1. to function as a minister of religion 2. to give aid or service <minister to the sick>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a head of a government department. 2 (in full minister of religion) a member of the clergy, esp. in the Presbyterian and Nonconformist Churches. 3 a diplomatic agent, usu. ranking below an ambassador. 4 (usu. foll. by of) a person employed in the execution of (a purpose, will, etc.) (a minister of justice). 5 (in full minister general) the superior of some religious orders. --v. 1 intr. (usu. foll. by to) render aid or service (to a person, cause, etc.). 2 tr. (usu. foll. by with) archaic furnish, supply, etc. Phrases and idioms: ministering angel a kind-hearted person, esp. a woman, who nurses or comforts others (with ref. to Mark
1:13). Minister of the Crown Brit. Parl. a member of the Cabinet. Minister of State a government minister, in the UK usu. regarded as holding a rank below that of Head of Department. Minister without Portfolio a government minister who has Cabinet status, but is not in charge of a specific Department of State. Derivatives: ministrable adj. Etymology: ME f. OF ministre f. L minister servant f. minus less

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Minister Min"is*ter, n. [OE. ministre, F. ministre, fr. L. minister, orig. a double comparative from the root of minor less, and hence meaning, an inferior, a servant. See 1st Minor, and cf. Master, Minstrel.] 1. A servant; a subordinate; an officer or assistant of inferior rank; hence, an agent, an instrument. Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua. --Ex. xxiv. 13. I chose Camillo for the minister, to poison My friend Polixenes. --Shak. 2. An officer of justice. [Obs.] I cry out the on the ministres, quod he, That shoulde keep and rule this cit['e]. --Chaucer. 3. One to whom the sovereign or executive head of a government intrusts the management of affairs of state, or some department of such affairs. Ministers to kings, whose eyes, ears, and hands they are, must be answerable to God and man. --Bacon. 4. A representative of a government, sent to the court, or seat of government, of a foreign nation to transact diplomatic business. Note: Ambassadors are classed (in the diplomatic sense) in the first rank of public ministers, ministers plenipotentiary in the second. ``The United States diplomatic service employs two classes of ministers, -- ministers plenipotentiary and ministers resident.'' --Abbott. 5. One who serves at the altar; one who performs sacerdotal duties; the pastor of a church duly authorized or licensed to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments. --Addison. Syn: Delegate; official; ambassador; clergyman; parson; priest.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Minister Min"is*ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ministered; p. pr. & vb. n. Ministering.] [OE. ministren, OF. ministrer, fr. L. ministrare. See Minister, n.] To furnish or apply; to afford; to supply; to administer. He that ministereth seed to the sower. --2 Cor. ix. 10. We minister to God reason to suspect us. --Jer. Taylor.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Minister Min"is*ter, v. i. 1. To act as a servant, attendant, or agent; to attend and serve; to perform service in any office, sacred or secular. The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. --Matt. xx. 28. 2. To supply or to things needful; esp., to supply consolation or remedies. --Matt. xxv. 44. Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased? --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(ministers, ministering, ministered) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. In Britain and some other countries, a minister is a person who is in charge of a particular government department. When the government had come to power, he had been named minister of culture... The new Defence Minister is Senator Robert Ray. N-COUNT: oft N of n, n N 2. A minister is a person who officially represents their government in a foreign country and has a lower rank than an ambassador. He concluded a deal with the Danish minister in Washington. N-COUNT: usu supp N 3. A minister is a member of the clergy, especially in Protestant churches. His father was a Baptist minister. N-COUNT 4. If you minister to people or to their needs, you serve them or help them, for example by making sure that they have everything they need or want. (FORMAL) For 44 years he had ministered to the poor, the sick, the neglected and the deprived. VERB: V to n

Easton's Bible Dictionary

one who serves, as distinguished from the master. (1.) Heb. meshereth, applied to an attendant on one of superior rank, as to Joshua, the servant of Moses (Ex. 33:11), and to the servant of Elisha (2 Kings 4:43). This name is also given to attendants at court (2 Chr. 22:8), and to the priests and Levites (Jer. 33:21; Ezek. 44:11).

(2.) Heb. pelah (Ezra 7:24), a "minister" of religion. Here used of that class of sanctuary servants called "Solomon's servants" in Ezra 2:55-58 and Neh. 7:57-60.

(3.) Greek leitourgos, a subordinate public administrator, and in this sense applied to magistrates (Rom. 13:6). It is applied also to our Lord (Heb. 8:2), and to Paul in relation to Christ (Rom. 15:16).

(4.) Greek hyperetes (literally, "under-rower"), a personal attendant on a superior, thus of the person who waited on the officiating priest in the synagogue (Luke 4:20). It is applied also to John Mark, the attendant on Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:5).

(5.) Greek diaconos, usually a subordinate officer or assistant employed in relation to the ministry of the gospel, as to Paul and Apollos (1 Cor. 3:5), Tychicus (Eph. 6:21), Epaphras (Col. 1:7), Timothy (1 Thess. 3:2), and also to Christ (Rom. 15:8).

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Servant, subordinate, agent, underling, assistant. 2. Administrator (of executive authority), executive officer (of a sovereign or of a government), official. 3. Ambassador, envoy, plenipotentiary, delegate. 4. Clergyman, divine, priest, parson, ecclesiastic, churchman, pastor. II. v. a. Furnish, afford, supply, administer, give. III. v. n. 1. Serve, perform service, do service, officiate, attend, administer. 2. Aid, help, assist, succor, give assistance to, supply with what is needed, contribute.

Moby Thesaurus

DD, Doctor of Divinity, Holy Joe, abbe, accommodate, administer the Eucharist, agent, aid, alderman, ambassador, ambassadress, anoint, apostolic delegate, archon, assist, attache, bailie, burghermaster, burgomaster, cabinet member, cabinet minister, care for, career diplomat, chancellor, chaplain, charge, chrism, churchman, city councilman, city father, city manager, clergyman, clergywoman, cleric, clerical, clerk, commercial attache, commissar, commissary, commissionaire, commissioner, confirm, consul, consul general, consular agent, councillor, councilman, councilwoman, county commissioner, county supervisor, curate, cure, dean, delegate, diplomat, diplomatic, diplomatic agent, diplomatist, divine, do duty, ecclesiastic, elder, emissary, envoy, envoy extraordinary, evangelist, father, foreign service officer, headman, help, herald, impose, induna, internuncio, lay hands on, legate, legislator, look after, lord mayor, magistrate, maire, man of God, mayor, messenger, military attache, military chaplain, minister of state, minister plenipotentiary, minister resident, minister to, missionary, nuncio, officiate, padre, parson, pastor, perform a rite, perform service, plenipotentiary, portreeve, preacher, priest, rector, reeve, resident, reverend, secretary, secretary of legation, secretary of state, see to, selectman, servant of God, serve, shepherd, sky pilot, supervisor, supply, supply clergy, supply minister, support, syndic, the Reverend, the very Reverend, tonsured cleric, undersecretary, vicar, vice-consul, vice-legate, wait on, warden