minister

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In its ecclesiastical sense, minister is the term to use for a member of the clergy, especially in the Presbyterian and Nonconformist Churches. It also has a more hierarchical meaning, reflecting the word's origin in Latin minister meaning 'servant' (from minus 'lesser'), denoting a church official who assists the higher orders (e.g. deacon or subdeacon) in discharging their duties. Care should be taken before using the term as a simple synonym for priest.

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also minister to

noun

A person ordained for service in a Christian church: churchman, churchwoman, clergyman, clergywoman, cleric, clerical, clerk, divine, ecclesiastic, parson, preacher. Informal reverend. See religion.

phrasal verb - minister to

1. To have the care and supervision of: attend, care for, look after, mind, see to, tend², watch. Idioms: keep an eye on, look out for, takecarechargeof, take under one's wing. See care for/neglect.
2. To work and care for: attend, do for, serve, wait on (or upon). See care for/neglect.

v

Definition: help, serve
Antonyms: hurt, injure

Member of a national government, either in charge of a government department or available to work in a variety of policy areas at the behest of the head of government (‘minister without portfolio’).

In a Westminster system where members of the executive are drawn from the legislature, ministers are generally responsible for framing government policy and for steering government bills through Parliament. Ministers give political leadership to officials throughout the central machinery of government and in so doing may act in varying degrees as policy initiators, departmental managers, or policy publicists. They are criticized on several grounds. Ministers are rarely experts in the policy area to which they are appointed, and seldom have had experience of managing large organizations before entering government. Nor are they generally kept in the same position for more than two years. Confronted by a heavy workload and limited knowledge, ministers become heavily reliant on their civil servants, especially in relation to routine and reactive policy-making.

— Jonathan Bradbury

A person ordained in conformity to the customs of any organized religion. To be exempt from military training and service, but not from registration, under the Universal Military Training and Service Act, §6(g), 50 U.S.C., App. §456(g), a person must be ordained in accordance with the formalities required by their religious denomination and preach and teach its religious tenets as their regular and customary vocation, not merely irregularly or incidentally. 387 F. 2d 909, 911.

A title used in many countries for members of cabinets and similar public officials, who are roughly equivalent to the officials in the United States cabinet. For example, a minister of foreign affairs will have duties similar to those of the secretary of state of the United States.

A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

n.

An agent of a higher power with a lower responsibility. In diplomacy and officer sent into a foreign country as the visible embodiment of his sovereign's hostility. His principal qualification is a degree of plausible inveracity next below that of an ambassador.

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IN BRIEF: A person who is the spiritual head of a church. Also: A person in charge of some department of government.

I see before me the statue of a celebrated minister, who said that confidence was a plant of slow growth. — Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881).

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For a list of words related to minister, see:

• Government Officials and Citizens - minister: high official managing government department or serving as diplomatic representative in foreign state
• Diplomacy and Diplomats - minister: diplomatic agent of second rank
• Titles of Rank - minister: Christian Protestant clergyman; diplomatic representative below ambassador; cabinet-level officer administering specific ministry in government
• Occupations and Job Titles
• Individuals and Titles - minister: clergyman or -woman, esp. Protestant one

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See words rhyming with "minister."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Minister.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - minister, præst
v. intr. - hjælpe, tjene, pleje
v. tr. - give, yde

idioms:

• minister without portfolio    minister uden portefølje

Nederlands (Dutch)
minister, geestelijke, predikant, dominee, gezant, dienaar, toedienen

Français (French)
n. - (GB, Pol) ministre, (Relig) ministre
v. intr. - donner des soins à (qn), (Relig) desservir (un village, une paroisse)
v. tr. - soigner, appliquer, administrer, pourvoir/subvenir aux soins de (qn)

idioms:

• minister without portfolio    (GB, Pol) ministre sans portefeuille

Deutsch (German)
n. - Minister, Gesandter, Geistlicher, Pfarrer
v. - sorgen für

idioms:

• minister without portfolio    Minister ohne Geschäftsbereich

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (πληρεξούσιος) υπουργός, (θρησκ.) πάστορας, ιερέας
v. - διακονώ, (εξ)υπηρετώ, φροντίζω

idioms:

• minister without portfolio    Υπουργός άνευ Χαρτοφυλακίου

Italiano (Italian)
ministro, sacerdote

idioms:

• minister without portfolio    ministro senza portafoglio

Português (Portuguese)
n. - ministro (m), sacerdote (m)
v. - atender, contribuir

idioms:

• minister without portfolio    ministro sem pasta (gír.)

Русский (Russian)
министр, посланник, священник, прислуживать, совершать богослужение

idioms:

• minister without portfolio    министр без портфеля

Español (Spanish)
n. - ministro, pastor
v. intr. - oficiar, ministrar, servir, atender, auxiliar, contribuir
v. tr. - administrar, dar, suministrar

idioms:

• minister without portfolio    ministro sin cartera

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - minister, präst, tjänare, redskap
v. - hjälpa till, tjäna, vårda, tjänstgöra

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
部长, 公使, 牧师, 服侍, 主持圣事, 救助, 供给, 提供, 执行, 主持

idioms:

• minister without portfolio    政务委员, 不管部部长

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 部長, 公使, 牧師
v. intr. - 服侍, 主持聖事, 救助
v. tr. - 供給, 提供, 執行, 主持

idioms:

• minister without portfolio    政務委員, 不管部部長

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 성직에 종사하는 사람, 정부의 고위직에 있는 사람[장관], 외교사절
v. intr. - 성직에 종사하다, 공헌하다, 만족시키다
v. tr. - (의식 등을) 집행하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 聖職者, 司祭, 大臣, 修道会会長, 公使, 使節, 代理人
v. - 聖職にある, 召使の役をする, 尽力する

idioms:

• minister without portfolio    無任所大臣

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) وزير, مندوب, كاهن (فعل) يلبي, يخدم, يعين‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שר, ציר, כומר, כוהן דת נוצרי‬
v. intr. - ‮הגיש עזרה או שירות‬
v. tr. - ‮סיפק (מיושן)‬

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