apparitor

American

[uh-par-i-ter] / əˈpær ɪ tər /

noun

(in ancient Rome) a subordinate official of a magistrate or of the court.

apparitor British

/ əˈpærɪtə /

noun

an officer who summons witnesses and executes the orders of an ecclesiastical and (formerly) a civil court

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of apparitor

1250–1300; Middle English apparitour < Latin appāritor, equivalent to appāri- (variant stem of appārēre to serve, attend, literally, to be seen; see appear) + -tor -tor

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023