A deacon is a member of the clergy, for example in the Church of England, who is lower in rank than a priest.
2. countable noun
A deacon is a person who is not ordained but who assists the minister in some Protestant churches.
deacon in British English
(ˈdiːkən)
noun Christianity
1.
(in the Roman Catholic and other episcopal churches) an ordained minister ranking immediately below a priest
2.
(in Protestant churches) a lay official appointed or elected to assist the minister, esp in secular affairs
3. Scottish
the president of an incorporated trade or body of craftsmen in a burgh
▶ Related adjective: diaconal
Derived forms
deaconship (ˈdeaconˌship)
noun
Word origin
Old English, ultimately from Greek diakonos servant
deacon in American English
(ˈdikən)
noun
1.
a cleric ranking just below a priest in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches
2.
in some Protestant churches,
a.
a person in training to be a minister
b.
an officer who helps the minister in matters not having to do with worship
verb transitive
3. US, Informal, Obsolete
to read (a verse) aloud before it is sung by the congregation
usually with off
4. US, Slang, Obsolete
a.
to pack (produce) so that only the best shows
b.
to deal with deceptively
Word origin
ME deken < OE deacon < LL(Ec) diaconus, a servant of the church, deacon < Gr diakonos, servant, messenger (in N.T., deacon) < dia- (see dia-) + -konein, to strive < IE base *ken- > L conari, to try, W digon, can
Examples of 'deacon' in a sentence
deacon
`What brought their quarrelling to a head was the deaconry of the chapel--I mean which should be deacon now that there was a vacancy.
O'Brian, Patrick TESTIMONIES (2001)
Whitticombe trained as a deacon and has conceived the notion of compiling the History of Coldchurch Abbey.