Skip to content
Vinony

deacon

noun

  1. position in Christian ministry
L31336 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈdiːkən/

name

Etymology: * English occupational surname for someone working in the household of a deacon. * Also as an English surname, variant of Dicken. * As an Irish surname, from Ó Deocáin, "descendant of Deocán."

  1. A surname originating as an occupation.
  2. A male given name from English.

    “And like a mirror image in gestures if not in looks, Steward spit fresh Blue Boy while Deek lit a cigar. However disgusted both were, K.D. knew they would not negotiate a solution that would endanger him or the future of Morgan money. His grandfather had named his twins Deacon and Steward for a reason.”

noun

Etymology: Inherited from Middle English deken, dekne, from Old English diacon, from Ecclesiastical Latin diāconus, from Ancient Greek διᾱ́κονος (diā́konos, “servant, minister”).

  1. A designated minister of charity in the early Church (see Acts 6:1-6).
  2. A modern-day member of a church who handles secular and/or administrative duties in a priest's stead, the specifics of which depends on denomination.
  3. A modern-day member of a church who handles secular and/or administrative duties in a priest's stead, the specifics of which depends on denomination.
  4. A modern-day member of a church who handles secular and/or administrative duties in a priest's stead, the specifics of which depends on denomination.
  5. A modern-day member of a church who handles secular and/or administrative duties in a priest's stead, the specifics of which depends on denomination.
  6. A modern-day member of a church who handles secular and/or administrative duties in a priest's stead, the specifics of which depends on denomination.
  7. A modern-day member of a church who handles secular and/or administrative duties in a priest's stead, the specifics of which depends on denomination.
  8. A male calf of a dairy breed, so called because they are usually deaconed (see below).
  9. The chairman of an incorporated company.

verb

Etymology: Inherited from Middle English deken, dekne, from Old English diacon, from Ecclesiastical Latin diāconus, from Ancient Greek διᾱ́κονος (diā́konos, “servant, minister”).

  1. To ordain to the diaconate.

    “He was deaconed on the 23rd May, and priested on the 29th September, 1624, by John, Bishop of Sodar and Man.”

    “Chapman was a lay missionary and was not deaconed until 1844 and priested in 1852.”

  2. For a choir leader to lead a hymn by speaking one or two lines at a time, which are then sung by the choir.
  3. To kill a calf shortly after birth.
  4. To place fresh fruit at the top of a barrel or other container, with spoiled or imperfect fruit hidden beneath.

    “The blanc mange was lumpy, and the strawberries not as ripe as they looked, having been skilfully 'deaconed'.”

    “It's like buying a barrel of apples that's been deaconed — after you've found that the deeper you go the meaner and wormier the fruit, you forget all about the layer of big, rosy, wax-finished pippins that was on top.”

  5. To make sly alterations to the boundaries of (land); to adulterate or doctor (an article to be sold), etc.