pewholder

American  

[pyoo-hohl-der] / ˈpyuˌhoʊl dər /

noun

1. a person who rents or owns a pew.

---

Etymology

Origin of pewholder

First recorded in 1835–45; pew + holder

Example Sentences

The best-paying pewholder in the Reverend Samuel Reynolds' church was a Mr. Craunch, whose picture had been made by the joint efforts of the strolling artist Warmell and young Reynolds.

From Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 04 Little Journeys to the Homes of Eminent Painters by Hubbard, Elbert

Had a Grace Darling or a Florence Nightingale been known only as a sitter or pewholder in a congregation, they might have been deemed unfit for any work requiring courage, self-sacrifice, or perseverance.

From Parish Papers by Macleod, Norman

In 1819 the tenant was a person named McKechnie, as to whom I have been unable to glean any information whatever beyond the bare fact that he was a pewholder in St. James's church.

From The Gerrard Street Mystery and Other Weird Tales by Dent, John Charles