parson

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈpɑrsən/ UK /ˈpɑːsən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a parish priest or clergyman

The village parson visited the sick every Sunday afternoon.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a parish priest or clergyman clergyman priest minister rector vicar cleric pastor

Word family

Forms parsonicparsons

Derived forms parsonage

Related forms person

Simplified etymology

Parson, recorded since Middle English, comes from the same source as person: Latin persona, “actor’s mask,” “character,” or “human being.” Christian Latin also used persona for the rector of a parish, leading to the English clerical sense.

Etymology

From Middle English persone, from Old French persone, from Medieval Latin persona 'parson' (a special use of Latin persona 'person'), the parson being the 'person' legally embodying the parish church.

persone Old French persona Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# parson

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɑrsən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɑːsən/

## Meanings
1. a parish priest or clergyman

## Examples
- The village parson visited the sick every Sunday afternoon.

## Synonyms
- clergyman
- priest
- minister
- rector
- vicar
- cleric
- pastor

## Derived Forms
- parsonage

## Related Forms
- person

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: persone
- Root: persona

## Etymology
From Middle English persone, from Old French persone, from Medieval Latin persona 'parson' (a special use of Latin persona 'person'), the parson being the 'person' legally embodying the parish church.

## AI Etymology
Parson is from Middle English persone, from Old French persone, from Medieval Latin persona 'parson' (a special use of Latin persona 'person'), the parson being the 'person' legally embodying the parish church. Important recorded forms include persone (Old French) and persona (Latin). The modern sense follows that older lexical line closely. In current use it covers a parish priest or clergyman. The wider family includes derived forms such as parsonage and related words such as person.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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