ˈprezbəd.ə(r), -esb-, -ətə- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Late Latin, presbyter, elder, from Greek presbyteros — more at priest
1. : an official in the early Christian church vested with the task of providing leadership as an overseer usually over a local congregation
2. : a clergyman ranking immediately below a bishop in the more liturgical churches that have episcopal polities (as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Church) : priest 1a(1)
bishops, presbyters and deacons consecrated or ordained in the Church of South India — British Book News
3. : an elder in a Presbyterian church
4. usually capitalized , archaic : presbyterian