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
• disciple
• follower

Examples of acolyte in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Long before Trump and his MAGA acolytes, Modi understood how the primal power of blood could be deployed against the delicate bloom of ideas and abstractions. —Aatish Taseer, Time, 15 July 2025

The deal requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission, led by Trump acolyte Brendan Carr. —Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2025

Trump and his far-right acolytes are pushing to shortchange those efforts in part to award tax breaks that largely would benefit the ultra-wealthy. —Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 6 July 2025

These comments come just days after Trump acolytes touted their success in convincing China to lower trade barriers surrounding the export of rare earth minerals, like magnets, that the U.S. aims to purchase for use in several critical technologies. —Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 30 June 2025

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

Rhymes for acolyte

• aconite
• allanite
• alunite
• amberlite
• ammonite
• amorite
• amphitrite
• analyte
• anchorite
• andesite
• anhydrite
• ankerite

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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