deacon

English

/ˈdiːkən/

noun
Definitions
  • (Church history) A designated minister of charity in the early Church (see Acts 6:1-6).
  • (Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism) A clergyman ranked directly below a priest, with duties of helping the priests and carrying out parish work.
  • (Protestantism) Free Churches: A lay leader of a congregation who assists the pastor.
  • (Protestantism) Anglicanism: An ordained clergyman usually serving a year prior to being ordained presbyter, though in some cases they remain a permanent deacon.
  • (Protestantism) Methodism: A separate office from that of minister, neither leading to the other; instead there is a permanent deaconate.
  • (freemasonry) A junior lodge officer.
  • (Mormonism) The lowest office in the , generally held by 12 or 13 year old boys or recent converts.
  • (US) A male calf of a dairy breed, so called because they are usually deaconed (see below).
  • (Scotland) The chairman of an incorporated company.

Etymology

Inherited from Old English diacon derived from Latin diaconus (minister, deacon) derived from Ancient Greek διᾱ́κονος (servant, minister).

Origin

Ancient Greek

διᾱ́κονος

Gloss

servant, minister

Concept
Semantic Field

Social and political relations

Ontological Category

Person/Thing

Emoji

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms