acolyte

noun

ac·o·lyte ˈa-kə-ˌlīt

-kō-

plural acolytes

Synonyms of acolyte next

: a person who assists a member of the clergy in a liturgical service by performing minor duties

: follower:

: a person who attends or assists a leader

The mayor and some acolytes dined at their usual spot.

: disciple, pupil

… he studied acting with … an acolyte of the famed acting teacher …—

Evelyn Theiss

: fan, devotee

For acolytes of the craze, such high-brow bottles are worth the hefty price.—

BostonGlobe.com

… consistently sells out arenas … and inspires a generation of young acolytes …—

The Northland Age (New Zealand)

Did you know?

Follow the etymological path of acolyte back far enough and you'll arrive at kéleuthos, a Greek noun that means "path" and that is itself the parent of akólouthos, an adjective that means "following." Akólouthos traveled from Greek, leaving offspring in Medieval Latin and Anglo-French; its English descendant, acolyte, emerged in the 14th century. Originally, acolyte was exclusively a term for a person who assisted a priest at Mass, but by the 19th century, the word had acquired additional meanings, among them "attendant body, satellite" (a meaning used in astronomy) and "attendant insect" (a zoological sense), as well as the general meaning "assistant" or "sidekick."

Examples of acolyte in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Tucker Carlson, the Trump acolyte and former Fox News presenter, visits Moscow, where he is granted a two-hour interview with Vladimir Putin, most of which consists of Carlson being lectured on Russian history. —

The Week Uk, theweek, 25 Dec. 2024 Just six days before last month’s elections, while other Trump acolytes were appearing on mainstream television or high-profile podcasts, Patel logged on to an ultrafringe livestreaming platform called Pilled, home to many of the biggest QAnon influencers. —

David Gilbert, WIRED, 23 Dec. 2024 As part of its bill of particulars, the GOP report resurrects an old yarn, originated by Trump acolytes at the State Department in 2020 and promoted by the Wall Street Journal, that three researchers at the WIV became sick with what may have been COVID in the autumn of 2019. —

Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2024 In today’s newsletter, Jon Lee Anderson reports on the slash-and-burn austerity measures in Argentina that have earned admiration from Trump acolytes. —

Hannah Jocelyn, The New Yorker, 3 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for acolyte

Word History

Etymology

Middle English acolite, borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French acolit, borrowed from Medieval Latin acolūthus, acolythus, acolitus, going back to Late Latin, "person assisting the priest," borrowed from Middle Greek akólouthos, going back to Greek, "following, (as noun) follower, attendant," from a- (variant, before a following aspirate consonant, of ha- "having one, having the same," going back to Indo-European *sm̥-, akin to Greek heîs "one," homós "same") + -kolouthos (ablaut form, in a compound, of kéleuthos "path," of uncertain origin) — more at same entry 1