Deaconess

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language

·noun A female deacon.

II. Deaconess ·noun A woman set apart for church work by a bishop.

III. Deaconess ·noun One of an order of women whose duties resembled those of deacons.

IV. Deaconess ·noun A woman chosen as a helper in church work, as among the Congregationalists.