acolyte

/'ækəlait/

Thân thiện

A young acolyte carries a candle down the aisle during the evening service.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A person who assists a member of the clergy in a religious service or liturgy: An acolyte is someone, often but not always in training for the clergy, who helps with ceremonial duties such as carrying candles, processional crosses, or assisting with the preparation of the altar.
   • A devoted follower or attendant: In a broader, often secular sense, an acolyte can refer to a person who follows and assists a leader, mentor, or prominent figure, showing great devotion.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Religious context):
  • The young acolyte carefully lit the candles before the evening service.
  • During the Mass, the acolyte's role is to assist the priest with the wine and water.
• Noun (Secular/figurative context):
  • The famous philosopher was always surrounded by a group of eager acolytes.
  • She served as an acolyte to the master painter, learning his techniques for years.

Advanced Usage

• "Political acolyte": A follower who is intensely loyal to a political leader.
  • He was a longtime political acolyte of the senator, eventually becoming his chief of staff.
• "Acolyte of a movement": A devoted adherent to a particular school of thought, art, or ideology.
  • As a young writer, he was an acolyte of the modernist movement.

Variants and Related Words

• Acolyteship (n, rare): The office or position of an acolyte.
  • His acolyteship was a period of intense learning and service.

Synonyms

• Assistant: A person who helps in particular work.
• Attendant: A person employed to provide a service to the public or to another person.
• Follower: Someone who supports and admires a particular person or set of ideas.
• Disciple: A personal follower of a teacher or leader, especially in a religious context.

Related Phrases

• "To serve as an acolyte": To perform the duties of an acolyte.
  • He began to serve as an acolyte at his local church when he was twelve.

Related Idioms

• "Acolyte to power": A person who follows and serves someone in a position of authority, often with connotations of blind loyalty.
  • The dictator was guarded by a circle of acolytes to power who carried out his every order.

Học thuật

Noun

1. someone who assists a priest or minister in a liturgical service; a cleric ordained in the highest of the minor orders in the Roman Catholic Church but not in the Anglican Church or the Eastern Orthodox Churches