subdeacon
noun
subdeacon is a noun meaning “A Catholic clerical rank in the major orders below that of a deacon” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled S-U-B-D-E-A-C-O-N, and it appears about once in every 28 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of subdeacon is subdeacons.
What does subdeacon mean?
noun
- 1
A Catholic clerical rank in the major orders below that of a deacon.
- 2
A Catholic cleric who assists the deacon at High Mass and normally reads the Epistle at the Eucharist.
- 3
A layperson who acts as an assistant to the deacon during the celebration of mass.
- 4
The highest of the minor orders below that of a deacon.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of subdeacon
- subdeacons plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is subdeacon?
Subdeacon appears about once in every 28 million words in written English, the 161,690th 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).
Subdeacon in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense cleric below a deacon:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sous-diacre |
| German | Subdiakon |
| Portuguese | subdiácono |
| Spanish | subdiácono |
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 subdeacon come from?
Originated 1275–1325 from Middle English subdecon and -dekene, from Late Latin subdiāconus. Equivalent to sub- + deacon.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).