DEACON

/ˈdiːkən/

Scrabble

WWF

D(2) E(1) A(1) C(3) O(1) N(1)

NWL/TWL ✓ Collins ✓ WWF ✓

Definition

/ˈdiːkən/

noun

(Church history) A designated minister of charity in the early Church (see Acts 6:1-6).
(Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism) A clergyman ranked directly below a priest, with duties of helping the priests and carrying out parish work.
Free Churches: A lay leader of a congregation who assists the pastor.
Anglicanism: An ordained clergyman usually serving a year prior to being ordained presbyter, though in some cases they remain a permanent deacon.
Methodism: A separate office from that of minister, neither leading to the other; instead there is a permanent deaconate.

verb

For a choir leader to lead a hymn by speaking one or two lines at a time, which are then sung by the choir.
(animal husbandry) To kill a calf shortly after birth.
To place fresh fruit at the top of a barrel or other container, with spoiled or imperfect fruit hidden beneath.
To make sly alterations to the boundaries of (land); to adulterate or doctor (an article to be sold), etc.