deaconess

[ dee-kuh-nis ]

/ ˈdi kə nɪs /

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noun

(in certain Protestant churches) a woman belonging to an order or sisterhood dedicated to the care of the sick or poor or who is engaging in other social-service duties, as teaching or missionary work.

a woman elected by a church to assist the clergy.

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Origin of deaconess

1530–40; earlier deaconisse, part translation, part adoption of Late Latin diāconissa, feminine of diāconusdeacon; see -ess

usage note for deaconess

See -ess.

Words nearby deaconess

deaccelerate, deaccession, deacetylate, deacidify, deacon, deaconess, deaconry, deacon seat, de-acquisition, deactivate, deacylase

How to use deaconess in a sentence

Colts grew horses, beards turned gray, Deacon and deaconess dropped away, Children and grandchildren—where were they!
The Book of Humorous Verse|Various
Still later the superintendent told me that she was a deaconess in New York, and was doing a great work.
Prisons and Prayer: Or a Labor of Love|Elizabeth Ryder Wheaton
"There he is," said the deaconess, pointing to an enormously tall man standing in the darkest and remotest corner of the hall.
Serapis, Complete|Georg Ebers
The deaconess rose, pressed a kiss on the eyes of the dead youth, promised Eusebius that she would do her best and went away.
Serapis, Complete|Georg Ebers

She would have joined a Deaconess' Institution but she did not care to leave her father.
A Life For a Love|L. T. Meade

British Dictionary definitions for deaconess

deaconess

/ (ˈdiːkənɪs) /

noun

Christianity (in the early church and in some modern Churches) a female member of the laity with duties similar to those of a deacon

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