Minister | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Min'is-ter, n.

noun

[Lat., from minus, less, like magister, from magis, more; Fr. & Pr. ministre, Sp., Pg., & It. ministro.]

Sense 1. An underling; a servant; a subordinate; an assistant of inferior rank; an agent.

Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua. Ex. xxiv. 13.

Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister. Matt. xx. 26.

Sense 2. A chief servant of the executive authority; one to whom a king or prince intrusts the direction of affairs of state; a person in whose hands administration of government is placed.

Sense 3. The representative of a sovereign or government at a foreign court; a delegate; an ambassador.

Sense 4. One who serves at the altar; one who performs sacerdotal duties; the pastor of a church duly authorized or licensed to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments.

Synonyms— Delegate; official; ambassador; clergyman; parson; priest.

Min'is-ter, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. MINISTERED; p. pr. & vb. n. MINISTERING.] [O. Fr. ministrer, Pr., Sp., & Pg. ministrar, It. & Lat. ministrare. See supra.] To furnish or apply; to afford; to supply; to administer. “He that ministereth seed to the sower.” 2 Cor. ix. 10. “That it may minister grace to the hearers.” Eph. iv. 29.

We are so willing to perish, and so unwilling to be saved, that we minister to God reason to suspect us. Bp. Taylor.

Min'is-ter, v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. 1. To act as a servant, attendant, or agent; to attend and serve; to perform service in any office, sacred or secular.

I will sanctify, also, both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office. Ex. xxix. 44.

Sense 2. To afford supplies; to give things needful; to supply the means of relief.

When saw we thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Matt. xxv. 44.

Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased? Shak.

Synonyms— To attend; serve; officiate; administer; contribute.