acolyte

noun

ac·​o·​lyte ˈa-kə-ˌlīt How to pronounce acolyte (audio)
-kō-
1
: one who assists a member of the clergy in a liturgical service by performing minor duties
2
: one who attends or assists a leader : follower
The mayor dined with a few of his acolytes.

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

a popular professor dining with a few of her acolytes a highly influential economist whose acolytes can be found at many major universities
Recent Examples on the Web Volkswagen, which also owns Porsche and Audi, was an early acolyte of the EV craze and hasn’t been immune to these industry obstacles. Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 13 Mar. 2024 Postman, an acolyte of the influential Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan, argued that if McLuhan’s most famous postulation was correct—that the medium is the message—then television was a uniquely destructive and obscurantist force that had already ruined American discourse. Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2024 David Gottesman, known as Sandy, an investor and early acolyte of Warren Buffett’s, was not a creature of Page Six or TV, of divorce settlements, $500 million yachts, Davos or social-media diatribes. Ginia Bellafante, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024 Trump acolytes rose in the ranks as more moderate, traditional Republicans increasingly appeared to lose power in the state. USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2024 The clone was given to political consultant and Trump acolyte Roger Stone. Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 10 Jan. 2024 But Starlite is a serious acolyte of the English singer’s own catalog, to say the least, which also figures into the dramatic piece. Chris Willman, Variety, 22 Dec. 2023 On the other side of the Capitol, Speaker Mike Johnson, a Trump acolyte who owes his job to the ex-President’s backing, all but refused to bring the legislation to a vote, then adjourned the House for a two-week recess. Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2024 Many of his acolytes became leaders of the teeming haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, communities in Brooklyn, England and Israel, as well as in smaller enclaves around the world. Joseph Berger, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'acolyte.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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-) + -kolouthos (ablaut form, in a compound, of kéleuthos "path"); akin to Greek heîs "one," homós "same" and perhaps to Greek keleúein "to direct forward, urge on" — more at same entry 1, hold entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of acolyte was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Acolyte.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acolyte. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

acolyte

noun
ac·​o·​lyte ˈak-ə-ˌlīt How to pronounce acolyte (audio)
: a person who assists a member of the clergy in a service

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