minister

See also: Minister

English

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

     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.

   • Shakespeare

     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

• 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
• Finnish: ministeri (fi)
• French: ministre (fr) m, f
• German: Minister (de) m, Ministerin (de) f
• Greek: υπουργός (el) m, f (ypourgós)

  Ancient: πρόαρχος m (próarchos)

• 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
• Malay: menteri (ms)
• Malayalam: മന്ത്രി (ml) (manthri)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: minister m

  Nynorsk: minister m

• Old English: þeġen
• Polish: minister (pl) m, f
• Portuguese: ministro (pt)
• Romanian: ministru (ro) m
• 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) (mantri)
• 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: 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.

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
• 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