sexton

¹

[ sek-stuhn ]

noun

1. an official of a church charged with taking care of the edifice and its contents, ringing the bell, etc., and sometimes with burying the dead.
2. an official who maintains a synagogue and its religious articles, chants the designated portion of the Torah on prescribed days, and assists the cantor in conducting services on festivals.

Sexton

²

[ sek-stuhn ]

noun

1. Anne (Harvey), 1928–74, U.S. poet.

sexton

/ ˈsɛkstən /

noun

1. a person employed to act as caretaker of a church and its contents and graveyard, and often also as bell-ringer, gravedigger, etc
2. another name for the burying beetle

Other Words From

• sexton·ship noun
• under·sexton noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sexton¹

1275–1325; Middle English sexteyn, sekesteyn, syncopated variant of segerstane, secristeyn < Anglo-French segerstaine sacristan

Word History and Origins

Origin of sexton¹

C14: from Old French secrestein, from Medieval Latin sacristānus sacristan

Example Sentences

He then moved to Portland, Oregon, where he worked as a maintenance worker or sexton at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.

From Seattle Times

The gunmen sprayed bullets at a priest, nuns, and sextons, wounding five of them, said the two witnesses, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals.

From Reuters

The pair grew up in Seminary, a historically Black community near the Virginia Theological Seminary, where their grandfather worked as a sexton.

From Washington Post

Junior Roop, the sexton of a cemetery near the spill site, said people could smell the oil in town.

From Seattle Times

When she later fell pregnant, Van Gogh was accused by the village sexton of being responsible.

From Washington Post