minister

(government) minister (a politician who heads a ministry)

head

minister c (definite singular ministeren, indefinite plural ministre, definite plural ministrene)

ministeren (definite singular)
ministre (indefinite plural)
ministrene (definite plural)

→ Greenlandic: ministeri


minister

nl-noun

minister m (plural ministers, diminutive ministertje n)

ministers (plural)
ministertje (diminutive neuter)

Borrowed from French ministre. Used in political contexts since the 16th century.


minister

(religion) a servant of a monastery, or assistant of a priest

→ Papiamentu: minister

→ Saramaccan: minísíti

From Latin minister. Used in this sense since at least 1269.


minister

The minister said a prayer on behalf of the entire congregation.

(Protestantism) A person who is trained to preach, to perform religious ceremonies, and to afford pastoral care at a Protestant church.

(Roman Catholicism) A person (either a layperson or an ordained clergy member) who is commissioned to perform some act on behalf of the Catholic Church.

He was newly appointed to be Minister of the Interior.

Ministers to kings, whose eyes, ears, and hands they are, must be answerable to God and man.

1661 (first printed), Francis Bacon, A Letter of Advice to the Duke of Buckingham:

(government) A politician who heads a ministry

In diplomacy, the rank of diplomat directly below ambassador.

[…], I choſe / Camillo for the miniſter, to poyſon / My friend Polixenes: […]

c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 287, column 2:

And Moſes roſe vp, and his miniſter Ioſhua: and Moſes went vp into the mount of God.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 24:13, column 1:

A servant; a subordinate; an officer or assistant of inferior rank; hence, an agent, an instrument.

Pijin: minista

→ Hausa: ministà

predikant

person who is trained to perform religious ceremonies at a Protestant church

thừa tác viên

person who is commissioned to perform some act on behalf of the Catholic Church

From Middle English ministre, from Old French ministre, from Latin minister (“an attendant, servant, assistant, a priest's assistant or other under official”), from minor (“less”) + -ter; see minor. Doublet of Minorite.


minister

(transitive) To attend to (the needs of); to tend; to take care (of); to give aid; to give service.

(intransitive) To function as a clergyman or as the officiant in church worship.

I do vvell beleeue your Highneſſe, and did it to miniſter occaſion to theſe Gentlemen, […]

1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 7, column 2:

([…] Now he that miniſtreth ſeede to the ſower, both miniſter bread for your foode, and multiply your ſeede ſowen, and encreaſe the fruites of your righteouſneſſe)

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Corinthians 9:10, column 2:

We minister to God reason to suspect us.

1651–1653, Jer[emy] Taylor, ΕΝΙΑΥΤΟΣ [Eniautos]. A Course of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Royston […], published 1655, →OCLC:

(transitive, archaic) To afford, to give, to supply.

en-verb

minister (third-person singular simple present ministers, present participle ministering, simple past and past participle ministered)

ministers (present singular third-person)
ministering (participle present)
ministered (participle past)
ministered (past)

Inherited from Middle English mynystren, from Middle French ministrer, from Old French menistrer, ministrer and Latin ministrō, from minister.


minister

head

minister (genitive ministri, partitive ministrit)

ministri (genitive)
ministrit (partitive)
minister (nominative singular)
ministrid (nominative plural)
minister (accusative nominative singular)
ministrid (accusative nominative plural)
ministri (accusative genitive singular)
ministrid (accusative genitive plural)
ministri (genitive singular)
ministrite (genitive plural)
ministrit (partitive singular)
ministreid (partitive plural)
ministrisse (illative singular)
ministritesse (illative plural)
ministreisse (illative plural)
ministris (inessive singular)
ministrites (inessive plural)
ministreis (inessive plural)
ministrist (elative singular)
ministritest (elative plural)
ministreist (elative plural)
ministrile (allative singular)
ministritele (allative plural)
ministreile (allative plural)
ministril (adessive singular)
ministritel (adessive plural)
ministreil (adessive plural)
ministrilt (ablative singular)
ministritelt (ablative plural)
ministreilt (ablative plural)
ministriks (singular translative)
ministriteks (plural translative)
ministreiks (plural translative)
ministrini (singular terminative)
ministriteni (plural terminative)
ministrina (essive singular)
ministritena (essive plural)
ministrita (abessive singular)
ministriteta (abessive plural)
ministriga (comitative singular)
ministritega (comitative plural)


minister

minister (nominative singular)
ministereh (nominative plural)
minister (accusative singular)
ministerijd (accusative plural)
minister (genitive singular)
ministerij (genitive plural)
ministerân (illative singular)
ministeráid (illative plural)
ministerist (locative singular)
ministerijn (locative plural)
ministeráin (comitative singular)
ministerijguin (comitative plural)
ministerttáá (abessive singular)
ministerijttáá (abessive plural)
ministerin (essive singular)
ministerid (partitive singular)


minister

csb-noun

minister m pers (related adjective ministrów or ministersczi or ministerialny)

ministrów (adjective)
ministersczi (adjective)
ministerialny (adjective)
minister (nominative singular)
ministrowie (nominative plural)
ministra (genitive singular)
ministrów (genitive plural)
ministrowi (dative singular)
ministróm (dative plural)
ministra (accusative singular)
ministrów (accusative plural)
ministrã (instrumental singular)
ministrama (instrumental plural)
ministrze (locative singular)
ministrach (locative plural)
minister (singular vocative)
ministrze (singular vocative)
ministrowie (plural vocative)


minister

la-noun

minister m (genitive ministrī, feminine ministra or ministrīx); second declension

ministrī (genitive)
ministra (feminine)
ministrīx (feminine)
minister (nominative singular)
ministrī (nominative plural)
ministrī (genitive singular)
ministrōrum (genitive plural)
ministrō (dative singular)
ministrīs (dative plural)
ministrum (accusative singular)
ministrōs (accusative plural)
ministrō (ablative singular)
ministrīs (ablative plural)
minister (singular vocative)
ministrī (plural vocative)

Catalan: ministre

desctree

→ Danish: minister
→ Greenlandic: ministeri

→ Galician: ministro

German: Minister

Hungarian: miniszter

Italian: ministro

Occitan: ministre

→ Old French: ministre

French: ministre

Middle English: ministre

English: minister

→ Old Polish: minister (learned)
Polish: minister
Silesian: minister

→ Portuguese: ministro

Romanian: ministru

Russian: мини́стр (minístr)

Serbo-Croatian: ministar

Sicilian: ministru

Spanish: ministro

From Proto-Italic *minosteros. Equivalent to minus + comparative suffix *-teros. Compare magister.


minister

ministeren (definite singular)
ministere (indefinite plural)
ministre (indefinite plural)
ministrer (indefinite plural)
ministerne (definite plural)
ministrene (definite plural)


minister

ministeren (definite singular)
ministrar (indefinite plural)
ministrane (definite plural)


minister

Ministrovye albo prelaczy thego braczthva (ministri loci) mayą sye o tho vczyecz do bysskupow

1892 [1484], Hieronim Łopaciński, editor, Reguła trzeciego zakonu św. Franciszka i drobniejsze zabytki języka polskiego z końca w. XV i początku XVI, Krakow, page 716:

(religion, attested in Lesser Poland) minister (senior member of the tertiary fraternity, assistant and deputy of the monk who takes care of the fraternity)

zlw-opl-noun

minister m pers (related adjective ministrowski)

Polish: minister

Silesian: minister

Learned borrowing from Latin minister. First attested in 1484.


minister

(government) minister (politician who heads a ministry)

(government) high-ranking official in the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland

(obsolete, Protestantism) minister (a person who is trained to preach, to perform religious ceremonies, and to afford pastoral care at a Protestant church)

(obsolete, Protestantism) Protestant evangelist, Protestant preacher

(obsolete, Roman Catholicism) abbot, prior (high-ranking member of a monastery)

(obsolete, Roman Catholicism) minister (assistant in a Jesuit cloister)

(obsolete, Roman Catholicism) head of a Franciscan cloister

(government, obsolete) official (person who works in government)

(Middle Polish, biblical, expressive, paganism) priest of pagan cults

(Middle Polish, Roman Catholicism, derogatory, ironic) heretical priest; supporter of heresy

(Middle Polish, Roman Catholicism) Catholic preacher

(Middle Polish) steward (chief administrator of a medieval manor)

pl-noun

minister m pers (female equivalent minister or ministerka, abbreviation min.)

minister (feminine)
ministerka (feminine)
min. (abbreviation)
minister (nominative singular)
ministrowie (nominative plural)
ministry (derogatory nominative plural)
ministra (genitive singular)
ministrów (genitive plural)
ministrowi (dative singular)
ministrom (dative plural)
ministra (accusative singular)
ministrów (accusative plural)
ministrem (instrumental singular)
ministrami (instrumental plural)
ministrze (locative singular)
ministrach (locative plural)
ministrze (singular vocative)
ministrowie (plural vocative)

Inherited from Old Polish minister. Sense 1 is a semantic loan from French ministre.


minister

(government) female equivalent of minister (“minister”)


minister

(government) minister (a politician who heads a ministry)

szl-noun

minister m pers (related adjective ministeryjalny)


minister

a minister (in the foreign affairs administration)

minister (indefinite nominative singular)
ministers (genitive indefinite singular)
ministern (definite nominative singular)
ministerns (definite genitive singular)
ministrar (indefinite nominative plural)
ministrars (genitive indefinite plural)
ministrarna (definite nominative plural)
ministrarnas (definite genitive plural)