Sexton

/'sekstən/
Học thuật
Thân thiện
Definition
  1. Noun:
    • A church officer responsible for maintaining church property and ringing the bell: A sexton is a person employed by a church to take care of the church building and its contents, perform duties such as bell-ringing, and sometimes assist with gravedigging.
    • A surname: "Sexton" is also a family name, notably belonging to the American poet Anne Sexton.
Usage Examples
  • Noun (Church Officer):
    • The old sexton has been ringing the church bell for fifty years.
    • Please speak to the sexton if you need to arrange a meeting in the church hall.
  • Noun (Surname):
    • The confessional poetry of Anne Sexton is widely studied.
Advanced Usage
  • Historical Role: In historical contexts, the sexton's duties often extended to digging graves and maintaining the churchyard.
    • In the 19th-century parish, the sexton was also the gravedigger.
Variants and Related Words
  • Sextonry (n, rare): The office or position of a sexton.
    • He was appointed to the sextonry of the cathedral.
Synonyms
  • Churchwarden (though a churchwarden is typically a lay volunteer with administrative duties, while a sexton is a paid caretaker).
  • Beadle (a minor parish officer whose duties can overlap with those of a sexton).
  • Verger (an officer who cares for the interior of a church and leads processions).
Related Phrases
  • Sexton's lodge: A small house or room on church grounds where the sexton lives or works.
    • The keys are kept in the sexton's lodge.
Noun
  1. an officer of the church who is in charge of sacred objects
  2. United States poet (1928-1974)

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