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deacon

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈdiːkən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English deken, also dekne and diacne,[2][3] inherited from Old English dīacon, also dēacon,[4][5][6] borrowed from Late Latin diāconus,[7][4][8][9] from Ancient Greek διάκονος (diákonos, “servant, waiting man, messenger”), in Christian use a servant or minister of the church.[3][10][11] The OED explains that Old English dīacon was a learned form taken straight from the Latin, beside which a popular form gave 12th-century dæcne and deakne, and later deken; the modern spelling deacon arose from these under Latin influence.[3] It suggests that early Middle English diacne may come directly from Old French diacne, later diacre, and compares Old Norse djákn.[3] Weekley adds that Danish degn means sexton.[12] Merriam-Webster takes the Greek word from the prefix dia- and a second element akin to ἐγκονεῖν (enkoneîn, “to be active in service”) and to Latin cōnor (“to attempt”),[5][8] and Etymonline from the same prefix in the sense "thoroughly" and Proto-Indo-European *ken- (“to hasten, set oneself in motion”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A minister of the church: before 899, in the Old English translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History,[8][3] where it means a member of the order of the ministry below bishops and priests, who assists the priest at the service.[3] Ælfric also used it of the deacons of the Apostles' time.[3] Bosworth–Toller quotes Old English texts that describe the deacon as the one who serves the mass-priest, sets the offerings on the altar and reads the Gospel.[6]

Semantic evolution

In Old English the word was also applied to the Levites, an order below the priests in Jewish worship, a use that lasted until 1449.[3][6] After the Reformation it was used for officers of Presbyterian churches who look after the congregation's secular affairs (1566) and of Congregational churches who assist the pastor and distribute the elements at communion (1644).[3] In Scotland a deacon was from 1424 the president of an incorporated craft or trade in a town,[3][13] and hence a master of any craft, a sense found in Scots writers such as Galt.[3][14] The verb, a conversion of the noun, comes from the New England custom of a deacon reading each line of a hymn aloud before the congregation sang it (to deacon off, 1845);[5][3] American slang then used it for packing fruit with the best specimens on top (1867) and for other sly or dishonest dealing (1839).[3][5][10] Since 1889 it has also meant to ordain someone a deacon.[3]

Timeline

  • before 899 – a minister of the church, in the Old English Bede.[8][3]
  • 1122 – early Middle English record, in the Peterborough Chronicle.[2]
  • 1424 – in Scotland, the president of a trade guild.[3]
  • 1566 – an officer of a Presbyterian church.[3]
  • 1644 – an officer of a Congregational church.[3]
  • 1813 – an office in a Freemasons' lodge.[3]
  • 1845 – verb, to read out a hymn line by line before it is sung.[3]
  • 1867 – verb, to pack fruit with the best on top.[3]
  • 1889 – verb, to ordain as a deacon.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. In the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Eastern Orthodox churches, an ordained minister ranking below a priest.[13][5][3]
  2. In many Protestant churches, a layperson appointed or elected to help the minister, especially in practical affairs.[13][5][3]
  3. In Scotland, the president of an incorporated trade or body of craftsmen in a burgh.[13][3][14]
  4. An officer of a lodge in freemasonry.[3]

Verb

  1. (US) To read aloud a hymn or psalm line by line before the congregation sings it; often with off.[5][3][10]
  2. (US, slang) To pack fruit or vegetables with the best on top, or otherwise to deceive by a show of quality.[5][3][10]
  3. To ordain someone a deacon.[3][10]

Word family

  • deaconship
  • underdeacon
  • archdeacon
  • deaconess
  • deaconry
  • subdeacon
  • diaconal
  • diaconate

Usage notes

The Deacon process, a method of making chlorine by oxidising hydrochloric acid over a catalyst, is named after the English industrial chemist Henry Deacon (1822–76), not after the church office.[3]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  8. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  9. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
  10. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  11. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  12. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  13. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  14. ^ a b Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)