sexton
pronunciation
How to pronounce sexton in British English:
UK [ˈsekstən]
How to pronounce sexton in American English:
US ['sekstən]
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- Noun:
- an officer of the church who is in charge of sacred objects
Word Origin
- sexton
- sexton: [14] Sexton and sacristan [14] are doublets: that is to say, they started out as the same word, but have diverged over the centuries. Both come from medieval Latin sacristānus, a derivative of sacrista ‘person in charge of holy vessels’ (which in turn was based on Latin sacer ‘holy’, source of English sacred), but whereas sacristan was borrowed directly from Latin, sexton came via the roundabout route of Anglo- Norman segerstaine.=> sacred, sacristan, saint
- sexton (n.)
- c. 1300, sekesteyn, "person in charge of the sacred objects of a church," from Old French segrestien, from Medieval Latin sacristanus (see sacristan). Sense of "custodian of a church" first recorded 1580s. Fem. forms sextress, sextrice are recorded 15c., but the usual form is sextoness (early 15c.).
Example
- 1. A little thought is sexton to all the world .
- 2. The sexton is an old man .
- 3. You said you leftthe sexton 's partybecause you felt weird .
- 4. Shanna sexton , 25 , from devon , uk , even called in workmen to try and locate the problem .
- 5. The school needs to branch out on other continents in order to attract talented students and faculty who have become increasingly globalized , mr. sexton said .