acolyte

From Middle English acolite, acolit, from Old French acolyt and Late Latin acolythus, from Ancient Greek ἀκόλουθος (akólouthos, “follower, attendant”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈæ.kə.laɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

acolyte (plural acolytes)

1. (Christianity) One who has received the highest of the four minor orders in the Catholic Church, being ordained to carry the wine, water and lights at Mass.
2. (Christianity) An altar server.
3. An attendant, assistant, or follower.
   • 2021 March 17, Stephen Collinson, “New US intel report shows Russia, Trump and GOP acolytes have same goals”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     The real bombshell it contains is not the confidence of the spy agencies that Russia hoped to subvert American democracy. It is that US intelligence experts effectively confirmed that for the second election in a row, Trump acolytes repeatedly used, knowingly or otherwise, misinformation produced by the spies of one of America’s most sworn foreign adversaries to try to win a US election.

   • 2023 October 25, Stephen Collinson, “Trump rages as former acolytes turn against him under legal heat”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     She was the third former Trump acolyte to agree to testify against the ex-president and others this week.

   • 2024 October 31, Stephanie Amante-Ritter, “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel” (8:16 from the start), in Star Trek: Lower Decks‎^[3], season 5, episode 3, spoken by Jack Ransom (Jerry O'Connell):

     “Apparently, one of Milius's acolytes spends a lot of time at the top of that huge, dangerous mountain. Better get climbing.” “(groans) Oh.”

   • 2025 April 10, Adam Serwer, “The Confrontation Between Trump and the Supreme Court Has Arrived”, in The Atlantic:

     Trump acolytes have publicly and repeatedly floated the idea of defying court orders with which they disagree.

(assistant): sidekick

• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “acolyte”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

• cotylae

• acolythe (obsolete)

Inherited from Old French acolyt, from Ecclesiastical Latin acolytus, from Ancient Greek ἀκόλουθος (akólouthos, “follower, attendant”).

• IPA^(key): /a.kɔ.lit/

• Audio:

  (file)

acolyte m or f (plural acolytes)

1. (religion) acolyte
2. henchman, sidekick

• “acolyte”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.