anagnost

A1N1A1G2N1O1S1T1

noun

Someone who reads aloud, especially who reads lessons, passages etc. during a church service.

OriginLatin anagnōstes ← Koine Greek ἀναγνώστης ← Ancient Greek ἀναγιγνώσκειν →
First used 17th c.Scrabble 9
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Meanings

nounanagnost (plural anagnosts)

plural anagnosts

  1. historicalSomeone who reads aloud, especially who reads lessons, passages etc. during a church service.First known use 17th c.

    Coming to the landing, I saw two cataphracts, an anagnost reading prayers, Master Gurloes, and a young woman.

    1980, Gene Wolfe, chapter XII, in The Shadow of the Torturer (The Book of the New Sun; 1), New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 111

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekἀναγιγνώσκειν“to read”
  2. Koine Greekἀναγνώστης“reader, slave trained to read”
  3. Latinanagnōstes“slave trained to read aloud”
  4. Englishanagnost

From Latin anagnōstes (“slave trained to read aloud”), from Koine Greek ἀναγνώστης (anagnṓstēs, “reader, slave trained to read”), after Ancient Greek ἀναγιγνώσκειν (anagignṓskein, “to read”).

More words from Latin, Koine Greek, Ancient Greek

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Cite this entry
APA

anagnost. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anagnost

MLA

“anagnost.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anagnost. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “anagnost,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anagnost.

Source: anagnost on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.