minister

See also: Minister

§English

Charles Spurgeon, a Baptist minister (definition 1).

Tarō Asō, the Minister of Finance in Japan (definition 2).

James Busby, former British Resident (or Resident Minister) of New Zealand (definition 3).

§Etymology

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.

§Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɪnɨstɚ/ or IPA^(key): /ˈmɪnɪstə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

§Noun

minister (plural ministers)

Wikipedia

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

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

2. A politician who heads a ministry (national or regional government department for public service).

   He was newly appointed to be Minister of the Interior.

   • Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

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

3. At a diplomacy, the rank of diplomat directly below ambassador.
4. A servant; a subordinate; an officer or assistant of inferior rank; hence, an agent, an instrument.
   • Bible, Exodus xxiv. 13

     Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua.

   • William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

     I chose / Camillo for the minister, to poison / My friend Polixenes.

§Related terms

• ministerial
• ministry
• ministerium

§Translations

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

• Afrikaans: predikant (af), dominee (af)
• Catalan: ministre de l'església m
• Dutch: dominee (nl) m
• Finnish: pappi (fi)
• French: pasteur (fr)
• Greek: πάστορας (el) m (pástoras)
• Hebrew: כומר (he) m (komer)
• Hungarian: lelkész (hu), lelkipásztor (hu)
• Kurdish: qeşe (ku) m, f

• Maori: minita
• Navajo: ééʼ neishoodii
• Pijin: minista
• Portuguese: ministro (pt) m
• Russian: священник (ru) m (svjaščénnik)
• Scottish Gaelic: ministear m
• Sotho: moruti
• Spanish: ministro (es)
• Tok Pisin: minista

politician who heads a ministry

• Afrikaans: minister
• Arabic: وزير m (wazīr)

  Egyptian Arabic: وزير (waziir)

• Armenian: նախարար (naxarar)
• Catalan: ministre (ca) m
• Czech: ministr (cs) m
• Danish: minister (da) c
• Dutch: minister (nl) m, f
• Esperanto: ministro
• Estonian: minister (et)
• Finnish: ministeri (fi)
• French: ministre (fr) m, f
• Georgian: მინისტრი (ministri)
• German: Minister (de) m, Ministerin (de) f
• Greek: υπουργός (el) m, f (ypourgós)

  Ancient: ὑπουργός m (hupourgós)

• Hebrew: שר (he) m (sar), שרה f (sara)
• Hungarian: miniszter (hu)
• Indonesian: menteri (id)
• Japanese: 大臣 (ja) (だいじん, daijin)
• Khmer: រដ្ឋមន្ត្រី (km) (roattʰa mʊəntrəy), មន្ត្រី (km) (mʊəntrəy)

• Kurdish: wezîr (ku) f, m, şalyar (ku) f, m
• Latvian: ministrs m, ministre f
• Lithuanian: ministras (lt) m, ministrė f
• Malay: menteri (ms)
• Malayalam: മന്ത്രി (ml) (mantri)
• Maori: minita
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: minister m

  Nynorsk: minister m

• Old English: þeġen
• Polish: minister (pl) m, f
• Portuguese: ministro (pt)
• Romanian: ministru (ro) m, ministră f
• Russian: министр (ru) m (minístr)
• Scottish Gaelic: ministear m
• Slovene: minister (sl) m, ministrica f
• Sotho: tona (st)
• Swahili: waziri (sw)
• Swedish: minister (sv)
• Telugu: మంత్రి (te) (maṃtri)
• Turkish: bakan (tr)
• Ukrainian: міністр m (minístr)

someone who serves others

• Afrikaans: dienaar
• Dutch: dienaar (nl)

• Finnish: palvelija
• Russian: исполнитель (ru) m (ispolnítel’)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} ministro

§Verb

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

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

   A newspaper headline: Couple leaves business world to minister to inner-city children

2. to function as a clergyman or as the officiant in church worship
3. (transitive, archaic) To afford, to give, to supply.
   • Bible, 2 Corinthians ix. 10

     He that ministereth seed to the sower.

   • Jeremy Taylor

     We minister to God reason to suspect us.

   • 1610, The Tempest, by Shakespeare, act 2 scene 1

     I do well believe your highness; and did it to / minister occasion to these gentlemen [...] (to give opportunity to these gentlemen)

§Translations

to attend to; to tend

• German: sich um jemanden kümmern, für jemanden sorgen

• Russian: служить (ru) n (služítʼ), помогать (ru) n (pomogát’)

§See also

• cleric
• father
• parson
• pastor
• priest
• vicar

§External links

• minister in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• minister in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

§Anagrams

• interims

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§Danish

Wikipedia ^da

§Noun

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

1. a minister (politician who heads a ministry)

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§Dutch

§Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /miˈnɪstər/

§Noun

minister m (plural ministers, diminutive ministertje n)

1. A minister, a person who is commissioned by the government for public service.

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§Ladin

§Noun

minister m (plural ministeres)

1. minister
2. ministry

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§Latin

§Etymology

From minus + comparative suffix *-tero-. Compare magister.

§Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /miˈnis.ter/, [mɪˈnɪs.tɛr]

§Noun

minister m (genitive ministrī); second declension

1. attendant, servant, waiter
2. agent, aide
3. accomplice

§Inflection

Second declension, nominative singular in -er.

Number	Singular	Plural
nominative	minister	ministrī
genitive	ministrī	ministrōrum
dative	ministrō	ministrīs
accusative	ministrum	ministrōs
ablative	ministrō	ministrīs
vocative	minister ministre	ministrī

§Coordinate terms

• magister

§Descendants

• Catalan: ministre
• English: minister
• French: ministre
• Hungarian: miniszter
• Italian: ministro

• Portuguese: ministro
• Romanian: ministru
• Russian: министр (ministr)
• Spanish: ministro

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§Norwegian Bokmål

Wikipedia ^no

§Noun

minister m (definite singular ministeren, indefinite plural ministere / ministre / ministrer, definite plural ministerne / ministrene)

1. a minister (politician who heads a ministry)

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§Norwegian Nynorsk

Wikipedia ⁿⁿ

§Noun

minister m (definite singular ministeren, indefinite plural ministrar, definite plural ministrane)

1. a minister (politician who heads a ministry)

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§Romanian

§Etymology

From French ministère.

§Noun

minister n (plural ministere)

1. ministry

§Related terms

• ministru

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§Swedish

§Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

§Noun

minister c

1. a minister (member of government, cabinet)
2. a minister (in the foreign affairs administration)

§Declension

Declension of minister

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

§Related terms

• finansminister
• försvarsminister
• justitieminister
• kulturminister
• statsminister
• utbildningsminister
• utrikesminister