noun
sexton
SEHK-stuhn
noun
1
A church official who maintains the building and churchyard, and sometimes digs graves or rings bells.
"The old sexton had tended the graveyard for forty years."
How to Use Sexton
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA caretaker for a church, its grounds, and often its graveyard.
Easily confused with
sacristan
Word Forms
sextons plural, Sextons plural
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The old _____ had tended the graveyard for forty years.
Etymology
From Old French segrestien, from Medieval Latin sacristanus — a doublet of the word sacristan.