presbyter

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UK/ˈpɹɛzbɪtə/US/ˈpɹɛzbɪtɚ/US/ˈpɹɛsbɪtɚ/

noun

An elder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches.

OriginLate Latin presbyter ← Ancient Greek πρεσβύτερος →
UncommonScrabble 16
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Meanings

nounpresbyter (plural presbyters)

plural presbyters

  1. An elder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches.
  2. An elder of the Presbyterian church.
  3. An elder of the congregation in early Christianity.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekπρεσβύτερος
  2. Late Latinpresbyter
  3. Englishpresbyter

Learned borrowing from Late Latin presbyter, from Ancient Greek πρεσβύτερος (presbúteros), from πρέσβυς (présbus, “elder, older”). Doublet of prester and priest.

More words from Late Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek πρεσβυτεροσ, πρεσβυτερασ
  • πρεσβυτεροσ (presbuteros)elder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
  • πρεσβυτερασ (presbuteras)elder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
Bulgarian презвитер
  • презвитер (prezviter)elder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
Chinese Cantonese 長老 /长老
  • 長老 /长老 (zoeng² lou⁵)elder of the Presbyterian church
Chinese Mandarin 長老 /长老
  • 長老 /长老 (zhǎnglǎo)elder of the Presbyterian church
Esperanto presbitero, pastro
  • presbiteroelder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
  • pastroelder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
French prêtre
  • prêtreelder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
German Presbyter, Presbyterin
  • Presbyterelder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
  • Presbyterinelder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
  • Priesterelder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
  • Priesterinelder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
  • Presbyterelder of the Presbyterian church
  • Presbyterinelder of the Presbyterian church
Indonesian presbiter, penatua
  • presbiterelder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
  • penatuaelder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
Irish preispitéir
  • preispitéirelder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
Italian presbitero
  • presbiteroelder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
Latin presbyter
  • presbyterelder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
Polish prezbiter, kapłan
  • prezbiterelder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
  • kapłanelder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
Portuguese presbítero
  • presbíteroelder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
Spanish presbítero, Presbítero
  • presbíteroelder, priest, pastor, or minister in various Christian churches
  • Presbíteroelder of the Presbyterian church
  • presbíteroelder of the congregation in early Christianity
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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