ˈminə̇strē, -ri noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English ministerie, from Latin ministerium service, from minister servant — more at minister
1. : the action of ministering : the performance of any service or function for another : ministration
the ministry of books is at least threefold — T.V.Smith
the ingenuity of destruction … had outrun the ministry of healing — Dixon Wecter
the Gospels … become part of the present saving ministry of the Redeemer — H.H.Farmer
2. : the office, duties, or functions of a minister of religion
prepared for the ministry — A.E.Bailey
the true missionary is … occupied with the vital aspects of his ministry — E.A.Nida
answered the call to the ministry — Wayne Hooper
3. obsolete : a specific kind of service : function , office
to sever the wheat from the tares … must be the angel's ministry — John Milton
4. : the body of ordained ministers of religion : clergy
insistence on a highly trained ministry — R.T.Handy
5. : a person or thing through which something is accomplished : agency 2, : instrumentality
heroic believers become such by the ministry of heroic pains — Austin Phelps
6.
a. : the period of service of a minister of religion
b. : the total life of service of a religious figure
an outline account of the ministry of our Lord — Times Literary Supplement
7. often capitalized
a.
(1) : the whole body of ministers entrusted with the government of a nation or state and from which a smaller cabinet is sometimes selected
when a cabinet goes out of office, it … carries the entire ministry with it — F.A.Ogg & Harold Zink
the crown is the supreme executive … in all the dominions but it acts on the advice of different ministries — Robert Borden
a responsible ministry
(2) : the usually smaller group of ministers constituting a cabinet
b. : the whole body of ministers or the cabinet currently holding office
8.
a. : a government department presided over by a minister
ministries of justice have been the spearhead in promoting the recurrent great codifications of Continental law — C.J.Friedrich
the Communists received the three ministries they … wanted — W.S.Vucinich
ministry of foreign affairs
ministry of transport
b. : the building in which the business of a ministry is transacted
whether he had noticed any other member … entering the ministry — C.D.Lewis
9. : the term of office held by an individual minister or by a body of ministers
the Tory ministry lasted for fifteen years