Ostiary

2 definitions found

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

  Ostiary \Os"ti*a*ry\, n.; pl. {-ries}. [L. ostium door,
     entrance. See {Usher}.]
     1. The mouth of a river; an estuary. [R.] --Sir T. Browne.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. One who keeps the door, especially the door of a church; a


        porter. --N. Bacon.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  ostiary
       n 1: the lowest of the minor Holy Orders in the unreformed
            Western Church but now suppressed by the Roman Catholic
            Church [syn: {doorkeeper}, {ostiarius}]
       2: someone who guards an entrance [syn: {doorkeeper}, {doorman},
           {door guard}, {hall porter}, {porter}, {gatekeeper}]