Ec*cle`si*as"tic , n.
A person in holy orders, or consecrated to the service of the church
and the ministry of religion; a clergyman; a priest.
From a humble
ecclesiastic, he
was subsequently
preferred to the highest dignities
of the church.
Prescott.
Ec*cle`si*as"tic (?; 277), a. [L. ecclesiasticus, Gr. &?;, fr. &?; an assembly of citizens called out by the crier;
also, the church, fr. &?; called out, fr.
&?; to call out; &?; out + &?; to call. See
Ex-, and Hale, v. t., Haul.]
Of or pertaining to the church. See Ecclesiastical. "Ecclesiastic government." Swift.
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