| 释义 |
dea·con·ess
\-kənə̇s\ noun
(-es)
Etymology: from earlier deaconisse, modification of Late Latin diaconissa from Late Greek diakonissa, from Greek diakonos deacon + -issa -ess
1. : one of an order of women in the early church whose duties resembled those of deacons
2. : a woman assigned to church work by a bishop of the Church of England or the Protestant Episcopal Church
3. : a woman serving as a chosen helper in church work (as among the Methodists)
4. : a member of a sisterhood devoted to works of religion and charity founded at Kaiserswerth in 1836 by Pastor Theodor Fliedner of the German Protestant Church
5. : a woman in one of various Protestant denominations who has entered an order or sisterhood of deaconesses, who is commissioned or consecrated to a life of service to the church, and who is typically assigned to work as a nurse in a hospital, a benevolent institution, or on a mission field |