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diaconate

[dahy-ak-uh-nit, -neyt]
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noun
  1. the office or dignity of a deacon.
  2. a body of deacons.
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Origin of diaconate

From the Late Latin word diāconātus, dating back to 1720–30. See deacon, -ate3
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

priesthoodministrypastoratecardinalaterabbinateconclaveprelacycanonicatecanonrydeaconrydiaconate

Examples from the Web for diaconate

Historical Examples

  • The diaconate, the presbyter, priest or elder, and the επισκοπος or bishop.

    Mysticism and its Results

    John Delafield

  • There was no historian of the diaconate of the early Church.

    Deaconesses in Europe

    Jane M. Bancroft

  • Let us examine the requirements for the diaconate of the early Church.

    Deaconesses in Europe

    Jane M. Bancroft

  • At the Diaconate school there was a fellow who wrote verses; and what has become of him?

  • During the last days of my diaconate, grace, no doubt, enlightened me.

    The Village Rector

    Honore de Balzac

British Dictionary definitions for diaconate

diaconate

noun
  1. the office, sacramental status, or period of office of a deacon
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Word Origin

C17: from Late Latin diāconātus; see 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