confessor

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a priest who hears confessions and grants or pronounces absolution

   She asked her confessor for spiritual guidance before making the decision.

2. 2
   noun

   a person who admits to an act, belief, or fault

   The anonymous confessor described how the records had been altered.

3. 3
   noun

   in Christian history, a person who suffered persecution for the faith but was not martyred

   The church calendar honors the imprisoned teacher as a confessor rather than a martyr.

From Middle English confessor or confessour, through Anglo-French from Latin confessor, 'one who acknowledges,' based on confiteri, 'confess, acknowledge.' Early Christianity used the title for someone who openly professed the faith under persecution; it later also named a priest who receives another person's confession.

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary