Churchewardeyn

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A lay official elected to look after a parish's property, finances and affairs ; a long-stemmed clay tobacco pipe with a bowl set at the end of a very long stem
2. An elected parish officer who oversees church property and money ; a tobacco pipe made of clay with an unusually long stem
3. A layperson chosen to manage the business and property of a parish ; a clay smoking pipe distinguished by its long, slender stem

Etymology: Churchewardeyn is the Middle English plural of "churchewarden," and it names the lay officers who looked after a parish church's building, property and money. The second element is "warden," from Old French "wardein" (ultimately of Germanic origin, related to "ward" and "guard"), so a churchwarden was literally a guardian of the church. The word was in use by the late 1300s, and by the fifteenth century parishes elected wardens each year, typically two of them, drawn from the local householders. The office went far beyond upkeep. Wardens kept the church fabric in repair, collected and spent parish funds, and in many places kept the accounts that survive in parish records today. Because they handled money and property, their accounts are among the richest sources historians have for daily parish life, recording everything from bell-ringers' wages to the purchase of candles.

Synonyms: churchwarden