lay sister

American  

noun

1. a woman who has taken religious vows and habit but is employed in her order chiefly in manual labor.

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lay sister British  

noun

1. a woman who has taken the vows of a religious order but is not ordained and not bound to divine office

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Etymology

Origin of lay sister

First recorded in 1700–10

Example Sentences

Accompanying the Castilian generals is Luz, a former aristocrat turned Dominican lay sister and agent of the Inquisition.

From Slate • Mar. 22, 2019

Like a lay sister, she wears a habit, assists the parish priest in educational and social-service work.

From Time Magazine Archive

St. Francis is her patron saint, she is actually a Tertiary or lay sister of the Franciscan order.*

From Time Magazine Archive

It appears that Evita's body arrived in Milan on May 17, 1957, accompanied by Giuseppina Airoldi, a lay sister of the Company of St. Paul.

From Time Magazine Archive

She was, therefore, a lay sister; she was Sister Grace.

From A Son of Hagar A Romance of Our Time by Caine, Hall, Sir