sexton
/'sekstən/
Definition
- 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
-
an officer of the church who is in charge of sacred objects
-
United States poet (1928-1974)
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