minister
- minister
\ \ [13] Etymologically, a minister is a person of ‘lower’ status, a ‘servant’. The word goes back via Old French ministre to Latin minister ‘servant, attendant’, which was derived from minus ‘less’. It retained this meaning when it arrived in English, and indeed it still survives in the verb minister. But already by the Middle Ages a specialized application to a ‘church functionary’ had developed, and in the 16th century this hardened into the present-day ‘clergyman’. The political sense of the word developed in the 17th century, from the notion of a ‘servant’ of the crown.
\ \ Derivatives from other languages to have established themselves in English include métier [18], which came via French from Vulgar Latin *misterium, an alteration of Latin ministerium ‘service’ (source of English ministry [14]), and minstrel. And etymologically, minister is the antonym of master, whose Latin ancestor was based on magis ‘more’.
\ \ Cf.⇒ MÉTIER, MINSTREL, MINUS
Word origins - 2ed.
J. Ayto.
2005.
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Look at other dictionaries:
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 [ˈmɪnstə 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
