minister

See also: Minister

English

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmɪn.əˌstɚ/, /ˈmɪn.ɪ-/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmɪn.ɪs.tə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English ministre, from Old French ministre, from Latin minister (“an attendant, servant, assistant, a priest's assistant or other under official”), from minor (“less”) + -ter; see minor. Doublet of Minorite.

Noun

minister (plural ministers)

2. (Protestantism) A person who is trained to preach, to perform religious ceremonies, and to afford pastoral care at a Protestant church.

   Hypernym: cleric

   The minister said a prayer on behalf of the entire congregation.

3. (Roman Catholicism) A person (either a layperson or an ordained clergy member) who is commissioned to perform some act on behalf of the Catholic Church.
5. (government) A politician who heads a ministry

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:government minister

   Hypernym: provost (chief minister in areas of Central Europe and Scandinavia)

   He was newly appointed to be Minister of the Interior.

   • 1661 (first printed), Francis Bacon, A Letter of Advice to the Duke of Buckingham:

     Ministers to kings, whose eyes, ears, and hands they are, must be answerable to God and man.

7. In diplomacy, the rank of diplomat directly below ambassador.
9. A servant; a subordinate; an officer or assistant of inferior rank; hence, an agent, an instrument.
   • c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 287, column 2:

      […], I choſe / Camillo for the miniſter, to poyſon / My friend Polixenes: […]

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 24:13, column 1:

     And Moſes roſe vp, and his miniſter Ioſhua: and Moſes went vp into the mount of God.

Usage notes

Not to be confused with minster.

Derived terms

• cabinet minister
• catechetical minister
• chief minister
• culture minister
• deputy first minister
• ecclesial minister
• e-minister
• Eucharistic minister
• extraordinary minister
• first minister
• foreign minister
• interior minister
• junior minister
• lay minister
• liturgical minister
• minister of justice
• minister of state
• minister-president
• minister without portfolio
• ministress
• ordinary minister
• prime minister
• resident minister
• shadow minister
• stickit minister

 

Related terms

• ministerial
• ministerium
• ministrix
• ministry

Descendants

• Pijin: minista
• → Hausa: ministà

Translations

person who is trained to perform religious ceremonies at a Protestant church

• Afrikaans: predikant (af), dominee (af)
• Albanian: prift (sq) m
• Arabic: قِسِّيس (ar) m (qissīs), دَاعِيَة (ar) (dāʕiya), كَاهِن m (kāhin)
• Armenian: քահանա (hy) (kʻahana)
• Belarusian: свяшчэ́ннiк m (svjaščénnik)
• Bulgarian: свеще́ник (bg) m (svešténik)
• Burmese: ဘုန်းကြီး (my) (bhun:kri:)
• Catalan: ministre de l'església m
• Cherokee: ᎠᎵᏣᏙᎲᏍᎩ (alitsadohvsgi)
• Chichewa: mbusa
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 牧師／牧师 (muk⁶ si¹)

  Eastern Min: 牧師／牧师 (mŭk-sṳ̆)

  Hokkien: 牧師／牧师 (zh-min-nan) (bo̍k-su)

  Mandarin: 牧師／牧师 (zh) (mùshī)

• Czech: kněz (cs) m, duchovní (cs) m
• Danish: præst (da) c, pastor c
• Dutch: dominee (nl) m
• Erzya: туростор (turostor)
• Esperanto: pastoro (eo), pastro
• Estonian: preester
• Finnish: pappi (fi)
• French: pasteur (fr) m, prêtre (fr) m
• Galician: ministro m
• Georgian: მღვდელი (ka) (mɣvdeli)
• German: Pfarrer (de) m, Priester (de) m
• Greek: πάστορας (el) m (pástoras)
• Hebrew: כֹּמֶר / כומר (he) m (kómer), כּוֹהֵן / כֹּהֵן m (kohén)
• Hindi: पादरी (hi) m (pādrī), काहिन m (kāhin), याजक (hi) m (yājak)
• Hungarian: lelkész (hu), lelkipásztor (hu)
• Icelandic: prestur (is) m
• Italian: prete (it) m
• Japanese: 牧師 (ja) (ぼ​くし, bokushi)
• Korean: 목사(牧師) (ko) (moksa)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: qeşe (ku) m or f

• Lao: ນິຄົນ (ni khon)
• Latvian: priesteris m, mācītājs m
• Lithuanian: kunigas m
• Macedonian: све́штеник m (svéštenik)
• Maori: minita
• Navajo: ééʼ neishoodii
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: prest (no) m

• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: свѧщеникъ m (svęštenikŭ)

• Pashto: پادري (ps) m (pādri), کاهن m (kāhǝn), کشیش (kašiš)
• Persian:

  Dari: کَاهِن (fa) (kāhin), کَشِیش (fa) (kašīš)

  Iranian Persian: کاهِن (fa) (kâhen), کَشیش (fa) (kašiš)

• Pijin: minista
• Plautdietsch: Prädja m
• Polish: ksiądz (pl) m, pastor (pl) m, duchowny (pl) m
• Portuguese: pastor (pt) m
• Romanian: pastor (ro) m, preot (ro) m
• Russian: свяще́нник (ru) m (svjaščénnik)
• Scottish Gaelic: ministear m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: свѐштенӣк m, свѐћенӣк m, духо̀внӣк m

  Roman: svèštenīk (sh) m, svèćenīk m, duhòvnīk (sh) m

• Slovak: kňaz (sk) m, duchovný m
• Slovene: duhovnik (sl) m
• Sotho: moruti
• Spanish: ministro (es)
• Swedish: präst (sv) c
• Tagalog: kataluna, ministro (tl)
• Thai: บาทหลวง (th) (bàat-lǔuang)
• Tok Pisin: minista
• Turkmen: ruhany
• Ukrainian: свяще́ник m (svjaščényk)
• Urdu: خادِمِ دِین m (xādim-i dīn), پادْری m (pādrī), کاہِن m (kāhin)
• Uzbek: ruhoniy (uz)
• Vietnamese: mục sư (vi) (牧師), linh mục (vi) (靈牧)
• Welsh: gweinidog (cy) m

person who is commissioned to perform some act on behalf of the Catholic Church

• Vietnamese: thừa tác viên

politician who heads a ministry

• Afrikaans: minister (af)
• Albanian: ministër (sq) m, ministre (sq) f
• Amharic: ሚኒስትር (ministər)
• Arabic: وَزِير m (wazīr), وَزِيرَة f (wazīra)

  Egyptian Arabic: وزير (wazīr)

• Armenian: նախարար (hy) (naxarar)
• Assamese: মন্ত্ৰী (montri), উজীৰ (uzir), মিনিষ্টাৰ (ministar)
• Azerbaijani: nazir (az), vəzir
• Bashkir: министр (ministr)
• Basque: ministro
• Belarusian: міні́стр m (minístr), міні́стар m (minístar) (Taraškievica), міні́стрка f (minístrka), міні́старка f (minístarka)
• Bengali: মন্ত্রী (bn) (montri), উজির (bn) (ujir)
• Bole: minista
• Bulgarian: мини́стър (bg) m (minístǎr), мини́стърка f (minístǎrka)
• Burmese: ဝန်ကြီး (my) (wankri:)
• Catalan: ministre (ca) m
• Chichewa: nduna
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 大臣 (daai⁶ san⁴), 部長／部长 (bou⁶ zoeng²)

  Hakka: 大臣 (thai-sṳ̀n)

  Hokkien: 大臣 (tāi-sîn)

  Mandarin: 大臣 (zh) (dàchén), 部長／部长 (zh) (bùzhǎng)

• Crimean Tatar: nazir
• Czech: ministr (cs) m, ministryně (cs) f
• Danish: minister (da) c
• Dhivehi: ވަޒީރު (vazīru)
• Dutch: minister (nl) m or f
• Erzya: туростор (turostor)
• Esperanto: ministro (eo)
• Estonian: minister (et)
• Finnish: ministeri (fi)
• French: ministre (fr) m or f
• Galician: ministro m
• Georgian: მინისტრი (ka) (minisṭri)
• German: Minister (de) m, (female) Ministerin (de) f
• Greek: υπουργός (el) m or f (ypourgós)

  Ancient: ὑπουργός m (hupourgós)

• Gujarati: મંત્રી m (mantrī)
• Hausa: minista (ha)
• Hebrew: שַׂר (he) m (sar), שָׂרָה (he) f (sará)
• Hindi: वज़ीर m (vazīr), मंत्री (hi) m (mantrī)
• Hungarian: miniszter (hu)
• Iban: menteri
• Icelandic: ráðherra m
• Indonesian: menteri (id)
• Japanese: 大臣 (ja) (だいじん, daijin), 長官 (ja) (ちょうかん, chōkan)
• Javanese: mantri (jv)
• Kannada: ಮಂತ್ರಿ (kn) (mantri)
• Kazakh: министр (ministr), уәзір (uäzır)
• Khmer: រដ្ឋមន្ត្រី (km) (rŏət mŭəntrəy), មន្ត្រី (km) (mŭəntrəy)
• Korean: 대신(大臣) (ko) (daesin), 장관(長官) (ko) (janggwan)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: wezîr (ku) m or f, şalyar (ku) m or f

• Kyrgyz: министр (ky) (ministr), вазир (ky) (vazir)
• Ladino: bakan, agá, vezir
• Lao: ລັດຖະມົນຕີ (lat tha mon tī)
• Latvian: ministrs m, ministre f
• Lithuanian: ministras (lt) m, ministrė f
• Macedonian: министер (mk) m (minister), министерка f (ministerka)
• Malay: menteri (ms)
• Malayalam: മന്ത്രി (ml) (mantri)
• Maori: minita
• Marathi: मंत्री (mr) (mantrī)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: сайд (mn) (sajd)

  Mongolian: ᠰᠠᠶᠢᠳ (sayid)

• Nepali: मन्त्री (ne) (mantrī)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: minister (no) m

  Nynorsk: minister m

• Occitan: ministre (oc) m
• Odia: ମନ୍ତ୍ରୀ (or) (mantri)
• Old English: þeġen
• Pashto: وزير (ps) m (wazīr)
• Persian:

  Dari: وَزِیر (fa) (wazīr)

  Iranian Persian: وَزیر (fa) (vazir)

• Polish: minister (pl) m or f
• Portuguese: ministro (pt)
• Romanian: ministru (ro) m, ministră f
• Russian: мини́стр (ru) m (minístr) (male or female)
• Sanskrit: मन्त्रि (sa) m (mantri), मन्त्रिन् (sa) m (mantrin)
• Scottish Gaelic: ministear m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: мѝнистар m, мѝнистрица f, мѝниста̄рка f

  Roman: mìnistar (sh) m, mìnistrica (sh) f, mìnistārka (sh) f

• Slovak: minister m, ministryňa f
• Slovene: minister (sl) m, ministrica f
• Sotho: tona (st)
• Spanish: ministro (es) m
• Swahili: waziri (sw)
• Swedish: minister (sv) c
• Tajik: вазир (vazir)
• Tamil: அமைச்சர் (ta) (amaiccar), மந்திரி (ta) (mantiri) (dated)
• Tatar: министр (ministr), вәзир (tt) (wäzir)
• Telugu: మంత్రి (te) (mantri)
• Thai: รัฐมนตรี (th) (rát-tà-mon-dtrii)
• Tibetan: བློན་པོ (blon po)
• Tocharian B: āmaś
• Tumbuka: nduna
• Turkish: bakan (tr), vezir (tr)
• Turkmen: ministr, wezir
• Ukrainian: міні́стр (uk) m (minístr), міні́стрка f (minístrka)
• Urdu: وَزِیر (ur) m (vazīr)
• Uyghur: ۋەزىر (wezir)
• Uzbek: vazir (uz), ministr (uz)
• Vietnamese: bộ trưởng (vi) (部長), tổng trưởng (vi) (總長), đại thần (vi) (大臣)
• Volapük: ninisteran
• Welsh: gweinidog (cy) m
• Yiddish: מיניסטער m (minister)
• Zazaki: wezır, weyner

someone who serves others

• Afrikaans: dienaar
• Dutch: dienaar (nl)
• Finnish: palvelija (fi)
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌱𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃 m (andbahts)
• Russian: исполни́тель (ru) m (ispolnítelʹ)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} ministro (ia)

See also

• cleric
• father
• parson
• pastor
• priest
• vicar

Etymology 2

Inherited from Middle English mynystren, from Middle French ministrer, from Old French menistrer, ministrer and Latin ministrō, from minister.

Verb

minister (third-person singular simple present ministers, present participle ministering, simple past and past participle ministered)

1. (transitive) To attend to (the needs of); to tend; to take care (of); to give aid; to give service.
2. (intransitive) To function as a clergyman or as the officiant in church worship.
3. (transitive, archaic) To afford, to give, to supply.
   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 7, column 2:

     I do vvell beleeue your Highneſſe, and did it to miniſter occaſion to theſe Gentlemen, […]

     (to give opportunity to these gentlemen)

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Corinthians 9:10, column 2:

     ( […] Now he that miniſtreth ſeede to the ſower, both miniſter bread for your foode, and multiply your ſeede ſowen, and encreaſe the fruites of your righteouſneſſe)

   • 1651–1653, Jer[emy] Taylor, ΕΝΙΑΥΤΟΣ [Eniautos]. A Course of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Royston […], published 1655, →OCLC:

     We minister to God reason to suspect us.

Translations

to attend to; to tend

• Bulgarian: служа (bg) (služa)
• German: sich kümmern (de), sorgen (de)
• Russian: служи́ть (ru) n (služítʹ), помога́ть (ru) n (pomogátʹ)
• Spanish: ministrar (es)
• Swedish: vårda (sv), ta hand om (sv)

Further reading

• “minister”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “minister”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Tenriism, Terminis, interims, ministre, smirnite

Danish

Etymology

From Latin minister.

Noun

minister c (definite singular ministeren, indefinite plural ministre, definite plural ministrene)

1. (government) minister (a politician who heads a ministry)

Descendants

• → Greenlandic: ministeri

Further reading

• “minister” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /miˈnɪstər/

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French ministre. Used in political contexts since the 16th century.

Noun

minister m (plural ministers, diminutive ministertje n)

1. (government) minister (a politician who heads a ministry)

Etymology 2

From Latin minister. Used in this sense since at least 1269.

Noun

minister m (plural ministers, diminutive ministertje n)

1. (religion) a servant of a monastery, or assistant of a priest

Descendants

• → Papiamentu: minister
• → Saramaccan: minísíti

References

• "minister" at etymologiebank.nl
• Woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal door M. de Vries & L.A. te Winkel. 43 banden. 's-Gravenhage, Nijhoff, 1864-2001

Estonian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /minˈister/

Noun

minister (genitive ministri, partitive ministrit)

1. (government) minister (a politician who heads a ministry)

Declension

Declension of minister (ÕS type 2/õpik, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		minister	ministrid
accusative	nom.
	gen.	ministri
genitive			ministrite
partitive		ministrit	ministreid
illative		ministrisse	ministritesse ministreisse
inessive		ministris	ministrites ministreis
elative		ministrist	ministritest ministreist
allative		ministrile	ministritele ministreile
adessive		ministril	ministritel ministreil
ablative		ministrilt	ministritelt ministreilt
translative		ministriks	ministriteks ministreiks
terminative		ministrini	ministriteni
essive		ministrina	ministritena
abessive		ministrita	ministriteta
comitative		ministriga	ministritega

Derived terms

• justiitsminister
• kaitseminister
• keskkonnaminister
• peaminister
• tervishoiuminister
• välisminister

 

Further reading

• “minister”, in [EKSS] Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat [Descriptive Dictionary of the Estonian Language] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2009
• “minister”, in [ÕS] Eesti õigekeelsussõnaraamat ÕS 2018 [Estonian Spelling Dictionary] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2018, →ISBN
• minister in Sõnaveeb (Eesti Keele Instituut)

Inari Sami

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

minister

1. (government) minister (a politician who heads a ministry)

Inflection

Odd inflection
	singular	plural
Nominative	minister	ministereh
Accusative	minister	ministerijd
Genitive	minister	ministerij
Illative	ministerân	ministeráid
Locative	ministerist	ministerijn
Comitative	ministeráin	ministerijguin
Abessive	ministerttáá	ministerijttáá
Essive	ministerin	—
Partitive	ministerid	—

Derived terms

• ruttâminister

Kashubian

Alternative forms

• minyster

Etymology

Borrowed from German Minister.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /miˈɲis.tɛr/
• Rhymes: -istɛr
• Syllabification: mi‧nis‧ter

Noun

minister m pers (related adjective ministrów or ministersczi or ministerialny)

1. (government) minister (a politician who heads a ministry)

Declension

Declension of minister

	singular	plural
nominative	minister	ministrowie
genitive	ministra	ministrów
dative	ministrowi	ministróm
accusative	ministra	ministrów
instrumental	ministrã	ministrama
locative	ministrze	ministrach
vocative	minister/ministrze	ministrowie

Derived terms

noun

• ministerstwò

 

Further reading

• Stefan Ramułt (1893) “mińister”, in Słownik języka pomorskiego czyli kaszubskiego (in Kashubian), page 101
• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “minister”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎^[1]
• “minister”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

Ladin

Noun

minister m (plural ministeres)

1. minister
2. ministry

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *minosteros. Equivalent to minus + comparative suffix *-teros. Compare magister.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /miˈnis.ter/, [mɪˈnɪs̠t̪ɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /miˈnis.ter/, [miˈnist̪er]

Noun

minister m (genitive ministrī, feminine ministra or ministrīx); second declension

1. attendant, servant, slave, waiter
2. agent, aide
3. accomplice

   Synonym: cōnscius

Declension

Second-declension noun (nominative singular in -er).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	minister	ministrī
Genitive	ministrī	ministrōrum
Dative	ministrō	ministrīs
Accusative	ministrum	ministrōs
Ablative	ministrō	ministrīs
Vocative	minister	ministrī

Coordinate terms

• magister
• ministra f
• ministrīx f

Derived terms

• ministerium
• ministrō

Descendants

• Catalan: ministre
• → Danish: minister
  • → Greenlandic: ministeri
• → Galician: ministro
• German: Minister
• Hungarian: miniszter
• Italian: ministro
• Occitan: ministre
• → Old French: ministre
  • French: ministre
  • Middle English: ministre
    • English: minister
• → Old Polish: minister (learned)
  • Polish: minister
  • Silesian: minister
• → Portuguese: ministro
• Romanian: ministru
• Russian: мини́стр (minístr)
• Serbo-Croatian: ministar
• Sicilian: ministru
• Spanish: ministro

References

• “minister”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “minister”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

minister

1. Alternative form of ministre

Etymology 2

Verb

minister

1. Alternative form of mynystren

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

minister m (definite singular ministeren, indefinite plural ministere or ministre or ministrer, definite plural ministerne or ministrene)

1. (government) minister (a politician who heads a ministry)

Derived terms

• finansminister
• førsteminister
• justisminister
• miljøminister
• samferdselsminister
• statsminister
• utenriksminister

 

References

• “minister” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

minister m (definite singular ministeren, indefinite plural ministrar, definite plural ministrane)

1. (government) minister (a politician who heads a ministry)

Derived terms

• finansminister
• førsteminister, fyrsteminister
• justisminister
• miljøminister
• samferdselsminister
• statsminister

 

References

• “minister” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin minister. First attested in 1484.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /miɲistɛr/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /miɲistɛr/

Noun

minister m pers (related adjective ministrowski)

1. (religion, attested in Lesser Poland) minister (senior member of the tertiary fraternity, assistant and deputy of the monk who takes care of the fraternity)
   • 1892 [1484], Hieronim Łopaciński, editor, Reguła trzeciego zakonu św. Franciszka i drobniejsze zabytki języka polskiego z końca w. XV i początku XVI‎^[2], Krakow, page 716:

     Ministrovye albo prelaczy thego braczthva (ministri loci) mayą sye o tho vczyecz do bysskupow

     [Ministrowie albo prełaci tego bractwa (ministri loci) mają sie o to uciec do biskupow]

Descendants

• Polish: minister
• Silesian: minister

References

• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “minister”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish minister. Sense 1 is a semantic loan from French ministre.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /miˈɲis.tɛr/

• (Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /miˈɲis.tɛr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -istɛr
• Syllabification: mi‧nis‧ter

Noun

minister m pers (female equivalent minister or ministerka, abbreviation min.)

2. (government) minister (politician who heads a ministry)
3. (government) high-ranking official in the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland
4. (obsolete, Protestantism) minister (a person who is trained to preach, to perform religious ceremonies, and to afford pastoral care at a Protestant church)
5. (obsolete, Protestantism) Protestant evangelist, Protestant preacher

   Synonym: predykant

   Hypernyms: homiletyk, kaznodzieja

6. (obsolete, Roman Catholicism) abbot, prior (high-ranking member of a monastery)

   Synonyms: opat, przeor

7. (obsolete, Roman Catholicism) minister (assistant in a Jesuit cloister)
8. (obsolete, Roman Catholicism) head of a Franciscan cloister
9. (government, obsolete) official (person who works in government)

   Synonym: oficjalista

10. (Middle Polish, biblical, expressive, paganism) priest of pagan cults
11. (Middle Polish, Roman Catholicism, derogatory, ironic) heretical priest; supporter of heresy
12. (Middle Polish, Roman Catholicism) Catholic preacher
13. (Middle Polish) steward (chief administrator of a medieval manor)

    Synonyms: klucznik, szafarz, włodarz

Declension

Declension of minister

	singular	plural
nominative	minister	ministrowie/ministry (deprecative)
genitive	ministra	ministrów
dative	ministrowi	ministrom
accusative	ministra	ministrów
instrumental	ministrem	ministrami
locative	ministrze	ministrach
vocative	ministrze	ministrowie

Noun

minister f (indeclinable)

1. (government) female equivalent of minister (“minister”)

Derived terms

adjective

• ministerialny
• ministerski

 

nouns

• minister bez teki
• ministerstwo
• prezes Rady Ministrów
• Rada Ministrów

 

Related terms

adverb

• ministerialnie

 

noun

• ministerium

 

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), minister is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 6 times in scientific texts, 213 times in news, 30 times in essays, 2 times in fiction, and 9 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 260 times, making it the 201st most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.

Further reading

• minister in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• minister in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “minister”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• “MINISTER”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 06.03.2013
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “minister”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “minister”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1902), “minister”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 2, Warsaw, page 990

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French ministère.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

minister n (plural ministere)

1. ministry

Related terms

• ministru

Silesian

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish minister.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /miˈɲis.tɛr/
• Rhymes: -istɛr
• Syllabification: mi‧nis‧ter

Noun

minister m pers (related adjective ministeryjalny)

1. (government) minister (a politician who heads a ministry)

Related terms

noun

• ministeryjŏ

 

Further reading

• minister in silling.org

Swedish

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

minister c

1. (government) minister (a politician who heads a ministry)
2. a minister (in the foreign affairs administration)

Declension

Declension of minister

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	minister	ministers
	definite	ministern	ministerns
plural	indefinite	ministrar	ministrars
	definite	ministrarna	ministrarnas

Derived terms

• arbetsmarknadsminister
• barnminister
• biståndsminister
• bostadsminister
• civilminister
• demokratiminister
• energiminister
• EU-minister
• fackminister
• finansmarknadsminister
• finansminister
• folkhälsominister
• försvarsminister
• gymnasieminister
• handelsminister
• idrottsminister
• infrastrukturminister
• innovationsminister
• inrikesminister
• integrationsminister
• it-minister
• jordbruksminister
• justitieminister
• jämställdhetsminister
• klimatminister
• konsumentminister
• kulturminister
• kunskapslyftsminister
• landsbygdsminister
• migrationsminister
• miljöminister
• ministerlista
• ministermöte
• ministerportfölj
• ministerpost
• ministerpresident
• ministerråd
• ministerstyre
• ministertaburett
• näringsminister
• premiärminister
• rolighetsminister
• samarbetsminister
• sjukvårdsminister
• skuggminister
• socialförsäkringsminister
• socialminister
• stadsutvecklingsminister
• statsminister
• utbildningsminister
• utrikesminister
• äldreminister

 

Related terms

• ministeriell
• ministerium
• ministär

Further reading

• minister in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker
• minister in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)
• Utrikes namnbok (12th ed., 2024)

West Frisian

Etymology

Borrowed from French ministre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /miˈnɪstər/, /məˈnɪstər/

Noun

minister c (plural ministers)

1. (government) minister (a politician who heads a ministry)

Derived terms

• minister-presidint

Further reading

• “minister”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011