Acolyte

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Acolyte \Ac`o*lyte\, n. [LL. acolythus, acoluthus, Gr. ?
     following, attending: cf. F. acolyte.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. (Eccl.) One who has received the highest of the four minor
        orders in the Catholic church, being ordained to carry the
        wine and water and the lights at the Mass.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. One who attends; an assistant. "With such chiefs, and with
        James and John as acolytes." --Motley.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  altar boy \al"tar boy\, n.
     a boy who assists a priest at the clebration of the Holy Mass
     and other forms of public worship; -- also called {acolyte}.
     [PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  acolyte
       n : someone who assists a priest or minister in a liturgical
           service; a cleric ordained in the highest of the minor
           orders in the Roman Catholic Church but not in the
           Anglican Church or the Eastern Orthodox Churches

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  75 Moby Thesaurus words for "acolyte":
     Bible clerk, Bible reader, acolytus, adjutant, agent, aid, aide,
     aide-de-camp, aider, almoner, anagnost, assistant, attendant,
     auxiliary, beadle, bedral, best man, capitular, capitulary,
     choir chaplain, churchwarden, clerk, coadjutant, coadjutor,
     coadjutress, coadjutrix, deacon, deaconess, deputy, diaconus,
     doorkeeper, elder, elderman, executive officer, exorcist,
     exorcista, help, helper, helpmate, helpmeet, holy orders,
     lay elder, lay reader, lector, lecturer, lieutenant, major orders,
     minor orders, ostiarius, paranymph, paraprofessional, parish clerk,
     precentor, presbyter, priest, reader, ruling elder, sacrist,
     sacristan, second, servant, sexton, shames, sideman, sidesman,
     subdeacon, subdiaconus, succentor, suisse, supporting actor,
     supporting instrumentalist, teaching elder, thurifer, verger,
     vergeress
  
  

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:

  acolyte n. obs. [TMRC] An {OSU} privileged enough to submit data and
     programs to a member of the {priesthood}.