presbyter
UK /ˈpɹɛzbɪtə/ · US /ˈpɹɛzbɪtɚ/ noun
Forms presbyters
- noun An elder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches.
- noun An elder of the Presbyterian church.
- noun An elder of the congregation in early Christianity.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Late Latin presbyter, from Ancient Greek πρεσβύτερος (presbúteros), from πρέσβυς (présbus, “elder, older”). Doublet of prester and priest.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An elder in the early Christian church. See 2d Citation under Bishop, n., 1.
- noun One ordained to the second order in the ministry; --called also priest.
Etymology [L. an elder, fr. Gr. Priest.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “presbyter”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details