Accensor

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ækˈsɛnsɚ/

Definitions

1. A position involving the oversight of activities to maintain ethical standards
2. A minor church official who performs various duties assisting higher clergy
3. An ecclesiastical attendant responsible for carrying out specific ceremonial tasks

Etymology: Anyone who has read about medieval church life has probably met the accensor without knowing it. The word names a minor church attendant, a role that sat below the higher clerical orders, and its Latin source, "accensor", came from "accendere", meaning "to light" or "kindle". The attendant's job was to tend the lamps and candles, so the title describes the work itself: the person who lit the church's flames. The English word was borrowed directly from Ecclesiastical Latin, the form of Latin used in the church's liturgy and administration, rather than arriving through everyday speech. That is why it sounds more technical than its cousin "accend", which keeps the same underlying idea of kindling. The Latin suffix "-tor" marks the doer of an action, so the word reads plainly as "one who kindles".

Synonyms: censor, editor