ostiary

ostiary
/os"tee er'ee/, n., pl. ostiaries.
1. Also called doorkeeper, porter. Rom. Cath. Ch.
a. a member of the lowest-ranking of the four minor orders.
b. the order itself. Cf. acolyte (def. 2), exorcist (def. 2), lector (def. 2).
2. a doorkeeper, as of a church.
[1400-50; late ME hostiary < L ostiarius doorkeeper, equiv. to osti(um) door, entrance (see OSTIUM) + -arius -ARY]

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  • Ostiary — Os ti*a*ry, n.; pl. { ries}. [L. ostium door, entrance. See {Usher}.] 1. The mouth of a river; an estuary. [R.] Sir T. Browne. [1913 Webster] 2. One who keeps the door, especially the door of a church; a porter. N. Bacon. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ostiary — [äs′tē er΄ē] n. pl. ostiaries [L ostiarius < ostium, door, entrance < os, mouth: see ORAL] PORTER1 …   English World dictionary

  • ostiary — os·ti·ary …   English syllables

  • ostiary — /ˈɒstiəri/ (say osteeuhree) noun (plural ostiaries) 1. a doorkeeper, as of a church. 2. Also, porter. Roman Catholic Church (formerly) a member of one of the four minor orders. See order (def. 17). {Middle English, from Latin ostiārius… …  

  • ostiary —   n. door keeper, especially of church …   Dictionary of difficult words

  • ostiary — noun 1. the lowest of the minor Holy Orders in the unreformed Western Church but now suppressed by the Roman Catholic Church • Syn: ↑doorkeeper, ↑ostiarius • Hypernyms: ↑clergyman, ↑reverend, ↑man of the cloth, ↑Holy Order, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • -ries — Ostiary Os ti*a*ry, n.; pl. { ries}. [L. ostium door, entrance. See {Usher}.] 1. The mouth of a river; an estuary. [R.] Sir T. Browne. [1913 Webster] 2. One who keeps the door, especially the door of a church; a porter. N. Bacon. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ostiarius — An ostiarius, a Latin word sometimes anglicized as Ostiary but often literally translated as porter or doorman, originally was a servant or guard posted at the entrance of a building. See also gatekeeper. In the Roman Catholic Church, this porter …   Wikipedia

  • Porter (Doorkeeper) —     Porter, doorkeeper     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Porter     (Also called DOORKEEPER. From ostiarius, Lat. ostium, a door.)     Porter denoted among the Romans the slave whose duty it was to guard the entrance of the house. In the Roman period …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • doorkeeper — noun 1. an official stationed at the entrance of a courtroom or legislative chamber • Syn: ↑usher • Derivationally related forms: ↑usherette (for: ↑usher) • Hypernyms: ↑official, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

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