Dea"con*ess (?), n. Eccl.
A female deacon
; as: (a) Primitive Ch.
One of an order of women whose duties resembled those of deacons.
(b) Ch. of
Eng. and Prot. Epis. Ch.
A woman set apart for church work by a bishop.
(c)
A woman chosen as a helper in church work, as among the Congregationalists.
© Webster 1913.