parson

noun

par·​son ˈpär-sᵊn 

1

: rector

2

: clergyman

especially : a Protestant pastor

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Around 1914, Peter and Laurie Kerr commissioned Portland architect Ellis F. Lawrence, who was the first dean of the University of Oregon’s architecture department, to design a new home based on a Scottish country parson’s manse. —Jeastman, oregonlive, 26 Jan. 2023

Peacock, talented, attractive, amatory, and a good friend to the bohemian Shelley circle, married, rather surprisingly, a Welsh parson’s daughter, Jane Gryffydh, who was ill at ease in London and developed life-long mental illness after the death of one of her children. —Hermione Lee, The New York Review of Books, 17 Nov. 2020

Charles Darwin was a companion to Captain FitzRoy of the Beagle with time to see the world before planning to return and become a parson. —Catherine Hoffman, Discover Magazine, 27 Feb. 2020

The eastern parson spider, named for the way the white patch on its black abdomen resembles a clerical collar. —Adam Roy, Outside Online, 26 Oct. 2022

The parson, the pardoner, and friar join in for the fun as well telling their tales. —Shirley Macfarland, cleveland, 21 Oct. 2022

Saturday, indicating in a subsequent statement that an unidentified parson fired between two and four shots from a northbound vehicle, possibly a BMW. —Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2022

At sixty, Øino has a boyish mop and the mild countenance of a country parson. —Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 18 July 2022

That man is Miles Lufton, the ambitious son of a parson in early 19th-century England. —Sam Sacks, WSJ, 4 Mar. 2022

See More

Word History

Etymology

Middle English persone, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin persona, literally, person, from Latin

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

parson

noun

par·​son ˈpärs-ᵊn 

1

: a minister in charge of a parish

2

: a member of the clergy

especially : a Protestant pastor

Etymology

Middle English persone "parson," from early French persone (same meaning), from Latin persona, literally, "person"; so called because the parson was the legal "person" representing the church