acolyte

noun

ac·​o·​lyte ˈa-kə-ˌlīt 

-kō-

plural acolytes

1

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

2

: follower:

a

: a person who attends or assists a leader

The mayor and some acolytes dined at their usual spot.

b

: disciple, pupil

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

—Evelyn Theiss

c

: 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."

Synonyms

• adherent
• convert
• disciple
• epigone
• follower
• liege man
• partisan
• partizan
• pupil
• votarist
• votary

Examples of acolyte in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Closing legal arguments were made Thursday in the case, which will in part be a test of the public perception of the press, and CNN in particular, after years of being demonized by President-elect Donald Trump and his acolytes. —Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2025

Peter Thiel The billionaire v.c. was Trump’s biggest Silicon Valley backer in 2016, but more importantly, many of Trump’s allies have deep ties to Thiel or are his acolytes. —Joe Walsh, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025

Experts say Xi’s purge of a longtime acolyte points to a familiar dilemma for autocrats, including his predecessor Mao Zedong: after eliminating political rivals, the supreme leader never stops looking for new threats to their absolute hold on power – including from their own close circle. —Nectar Gan, CNN, 15 Dec. 2024

But in the flurry of synchronized sketching, Tula loses control of the acolytes as they individual visions narrow into a single drawing of a set of eyes surrounded by darkness. —Scott Tobias, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2024

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

acolyte

noun

ac·​o·​lyte ˈak-ə-ˌlīt 

: a person who assists a member of the clergy in a service