I. min ‧ is ‧ ter 1 S1 W1 /ˈmɪnəstə, ˈmɪnɪstə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ ministry , ↑ minister ; adjective : ↑ ministerial ]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: ministre , from Latin minister 'servant' ]
1 . a politician who is in charge of a government department, in Britain and some other countries
minister of
the Minister of Agriculture
minister for
the Minister for Foreign Affairs
foreign/defence/finance etc minister
a meeting of EU foreign ministers
a senior Cabinet minister
⇨ ↑ Prime Minister
2 . a priest in some Christian churches ⇨ pastor , vicar :
a Baptist minister
3 . someone whose job is to represent their country in another country, but who is lower in rank than an ↑ ambassador
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ priest someone who is specially trained to perform religious duties and ceremonies in the Christian church:
a Catholic priest
|
a Buddhist priest
|
Women priests are much more common these days.
|
The priest who married us was very friendly and helpful.
▪ bishop a priest of high rank in some branches of the Christian church, who is the head of all the churches and priests in a large area:
the Bishop of Oxford
|
a meeting of bishops
▪ vicar a priest in the Church of England who is in charge of a church in a particular area:
our local vicar
▪ preacher someone who gives the sermon (=a religious talk as part of a church service) in some Protestant churches:
a Methodist preacher
▪ minister the formal word for any priest in some branches of the Christian church:
In 1843, 450 ministers of the church broke away from the established church of Scotland.
▪ chaplain someone, especially a priest, who takes care of the religious needs of an organization such as a college, hospital, prison, or the military:
the prison chaplain
▪ pastor American English someone who is in charge of the prayers, ceremonies etc in some branches of the Protestant church:
a Baptist pastor
▪ rabbi the person who is in charge of the prayers, ceremonies etc in the Jewish religion:
Israel’s chief rabbis
▪ mullah a Muslim teacher of law and religion:
The people turned to their traditional leaders, the mullahs.
▪ holy man someone who is treated with great respect by people who belong to a religion:
A Sadhu, or Hindu holy man, was performing yoga on the banks of the River Ganges.
▪ the clergy the official leaders in organized religions, such as the priests, rabbis, and mullahs:
Around 30 members of the clergy gathered for the meeting.
▪ clergyman a male member of the clergy – used especially in the past:
His youngest son decided to become a clergyman.
II. minister 2 BrE AmE verb [intransitive]
to work as a priest:
Rev Wilson spent 20 years ministering in some of New York’s poorest areas.
minister to somebody/something phrasal verb formal
to give help to someone who needs it, especially someone who is sick or old:
She spent much time ministering to the sick.
ministering to the needs of other people