presbyter

[prez-bi-ter, pres-]

noun

(in the early Christian church) an office bearer who exercised teaching, priestly, and administrative functions.
(in hierarchical churches) a priest.
an elder in a Presbyterian church.

Origin of presbyter

1590–1600; < Late Latin, noun use of the adj.: older < Greek presbýteros, equivalent to présby(s) old + -teros comparative suffix

Related formspres·byt·er·al

[prez-bit-er-uh l, pres-] /prɛzˈbɪt ər əl, prɛs-/, adjectivenon·pres·by·ter, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for presbyter

Historical Examples of presbyter

The diaconate, the presbyter, priest or elder, and the επισκοπος or bishop.
Mysticism and its Results
John Delafield
We do not know; no answer has been discovered; and Hartmann remained a Presbyter to the end.
History of the Moravian Church
J. E. Hutton
The word prester was understood to be a corruption of presbyter.
Genghis Khan, Makers of History Series
Jacob Abbott
There was no priest (cohen); the presbyter was the "elder," nothing more.
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 03
Various
According to the Stowe Missal it was administered by a presbyter.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh
H. J. Lawlor

British Dictionary definitions for presbyter

presbyter

noun

1. an elder of a congregation in the early Christian Church
2. (in some Churches having episcopal politics) an official who is subordinate to a bishop and has administrative, teaching, and sacerdotal functions
(in some hierarchical Churches) another name for priest
(in the Presbyterian Church)
1. a teaching elder
2. a ruling elder

Word Origin for presbyter

C16: from Late Latin, from Greek presbuteros an older man, from presbus old man

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

Word Origin and History for presbyter

"elder of the Christian church," 1590s, from Late Latin presbyter, used for "a priest" in Jerome and Prudentius, from Greek presbyteros "older," comparative of presbys "old; old man" (see presby-).