minister

minister
/min"euh steuhr/, n.
1. a person authorized to conduct religious worship; member of the clergy; pastor.
2. a person authorized to administer sacraments, as at Mass.
3. a person appointed by or under the authority of a sovereign or head of a government to some high office of state, esp. to that of head of an administrative department: the minister of finance.
4. a diplomatic representative accredited by one government to another and ranking next below an ambassador. Cf. envoy1 (def. 1).
5. a person acting as the agent or instrument of another.
v.t.
6. to administer or apply: to minister the last rites.
7. Archaic. to furnish; supply.
v.i.
8. to perform the functions of a religious minister.
9. to give service, care, or aid; attend, as to wants or necessities.: to minister to the needs of the hungry.
10. to contribute, as to comfort or happiness.
[1250-1300; (n.) ME ministre, minister ( < OF ministre) < L minister servant, equiv. to minis- (var. of minus a lesser amount; akin to minor MINOR) + -ter n. suffix; r. ME menistre < OF < L, as above; (v.) ME ministren < OF ministrer < L ministrare to act as a servant, attend, deriv. of minister]
Syn. 9. answer, tend, oblige.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Minister(in) — Minister(in) …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • Minister — • Even before the Reformation the word minister was occasionally used in English to describe those of the clergy actually taking part in a function, or the celebrant as distinguished from the assistants, but it was not then used sine addito to… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • minister — min‧is‧ter [ˈmɪnstə ǁ ər] noun [countable] in Britain and some other countries, a politician who is a member of the government and is either in charge of or has an important job in a government department: • a meeting of EU finance ministers •… …   Financial and business terms

  • minister — MINISTÉR, ministere, s.n. 1. Organ central al administraţiei de stat care conduce o anumită ramură a activităţii statului şi care este condus de un ministru; instituţia respectivă; p. ext. clădirea în care îşi are sediul această instituţie. 2.… …   Dicționar Român

  • Minister — can mean several things: Minister (Christianity), a Christian who ministers in some way Minister (diplomacy), the rank of diplomat directly below ambassador Minister (government), a politician who heads a ministry (government department) Shadow… …   Wikipedia

  • Minister — Sm std. (14. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus l. minister Diener , zu l. minor kleiner, geringer . Die Bedeutung Regierungsmitglied im 17. Jh. aus frz. ministre desselben Ursprungs (in merowingischer Zeit war das ministerium der Haus und Hofdienst… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • minister to — ˈminister to [transitive] [present tense I/you/we/they minister to he/she/it ministers to present participle ministering to past tense ministered to …   Useful english 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}.] [1913 Webster] 1. A servant; a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 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. [1913 Webster] The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. Matt. xx. 28. [1913 Webster] 2 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Minister — Minister: Die Bezeichnung für »oberster ‹Verwaltungs›beamter des Staates; Mitglied der Regierung« wurde im 17. Jh. aus gleichbed. frz. ministre (eigentlich »Diener«, dann etwa »Diener des Staates; mit einem politischen Amt Beauftragter«) entlehnt …   Das Herkunftswörterbuch

  • minister — [n1] person in charge of church abbot, archbishop, archdeacon, bishop, chaplain, clergy, clergyperson, cleric, clerical, clerk, confessor, curate, deacon, dean, diocesan, divine, ecclesiastic, lecturer, missionary, monk, parson, pastor, preacher …   New thesaurus

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