OSTIARY

doorkeeper, doorman, door guard, hall porter, porter, gatekeeper, ostiary

(noun) someone who guards an entrance

doorkeeper, ostiary, ostiarius

(noun) the lowest of the minor Holy Orders in the unreformed Western Church but now suppressed by the Roman Catholic Church

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

ostiary (plural ostiaries)

The mouth of a river; an estuary.

One who keeps the door, especially the door of a church; a porter.

Source: Wiktionary


Os"ti*a*ry, n.; pl. -ries. Etym: [L. ostium door, entrance. See Usher.]

1. The mouth of a river; an estuary. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

2. One who keeps the door, especially the door of a church; a porter. N. Bacon.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

2 April 2025

COVERT

(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”


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Coffee Trivia

In 1884, Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy, demonstrated the first working example of an espresso machine.

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