ostiary

American

[os-tee-er-ee] / ˈɒs tiˌɛr i /

noun

Also called doorkeeper, porter. Roman Catholic Church.
1. a member of the lowest-ranking of the four minor orders.
2. the order itself.
a doorkeeper, as of a church.

ostiary British

/ ˈɒstɪərɪ /

noun

RC Church another word for porter 2

"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

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

ostiaries

plural

Etymology

Origin of ostiary

1400–50; late Middle English hostiary < Latin ōstiārius doorkeeper, equivalent to ōsti ( um ) door, entrance ( see ostium) + -ārius -ary

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