minister
/ˈmɪn.əˌstɚ/noun, verb
minister is spelled M-I-N-I-S-T-E-R: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 110 times per million words in written English, the 972nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, minister means “A person who is trained to preach, to perform religious ceremonies, and to afford pastoral care at a Protestant church” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of minister is ministers.
How many letters and syllables are in minister?
| Letters | 8: M-I-N-I-S-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 110 times per million words; the 972nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is minister?
Minister appears 110 times per million words in written English, the 972nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce minister?
- US /ˈmɪn.əˌstɚ/
- US /ˈmɪn.ɪ-/
- UK /ˈmɪn.ɪs.tə/
Minister has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-minister.ogg, En-uk-minister.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of minister
- ministers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- ministering participle, present
- ministered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does minister mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A person who is trained to preach, to perform religious ceremonies, and to afford pastoral care at a Protestant church.
The minister said a prayer on behalf of the entire congregation.
- 2
A person (either a layperson or an ordained clergy member) who is commissioned to perform some act on behalf of the Catholic Church.
- 3
A politician who heads a ministry
He was newly appointed to be Minister of the Interior.
- 4
In diplomacy, the rank of diplomat directly below ambassador.
- 5
A servant; a subordinate; an officer or assistant of inferior rank; hence, an agent, an instrument.
verb
- 1
To attend to (the needs of); to tend; to take care (of); to give aid; to give service.
- 2
To function as a clergyman or as the officiant in church worship.
- 3
archaicTo afford, to give, to supply.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Minister in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pasteur, prêtre , ministre |
| German | Pfarrer, Priester , Minister, Ministerin , Dienstamtsträger, Dienstamtsträgerin |
| Portuguese | pastor , ministro |
| Spanish | ministro , ministrar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does minister come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).