Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Parson
Par′son
,Noun.
[OE.
persone
person, parson, OF. persone
, F. personne
person, LL. persona
(sc. ecclesiae
), fr. L. persona
a person. See Person
.] 1.
(Eng. Eccl. Law)
A person who represents a parish in its ecclesiastical and corporate capacities; hence, the rector or incumbent of a parochial church, who has full possession of all the rights thereof, with the cure of souls.
2.
Any clergyman having ecclesiastical preferment; one who is in orders, or is licensed to preach; a preacher.
He hears the
parson
pray and preach. Longfellow.
Parson bird
(Zool.)
, a New Zealand bird (
Prosthemadera Novæseelandiæ
) remarkable for its powers of mimicry and its ability to articulate words. Its color is glossy black, with a curious tuft of long, curly, white feathers on each side of the throat. It is often kept as a cage bird.Webster 1828 Edition
Parson
PARSON
,Noun.
1.
The priest of a parish or ecclesiastical society; the rector or incumbent of a parish, who has the parochial charge or cure of souls. It is used in this sense by all denominations of christians; but among independents or congregationalists it is merely a colloquial word.2.
A clergyman; a man that is in orders or has been licensed to preach.