preacher

From Middle English precher, prechere; partly equivalent to preach +‎ -er, and partly continuing Middle English prechour, prechiour, from Old French preecheor (French prêcheur), from Latin praedicator (“public praiser, proclaimer”). See preach.

Displaced native Old English bydel.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹit͡ʃɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹiːt͡ʃə/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːtʃə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: preach‧er

preacher (plural preachers)

1. Someone who preaches a worldview, philosophy, or religion, especially someone who preaches the gospel and especially a clergyman or clergywoman.

   Hypernym: cleric

   • 1859, George Meredith, chapter 10, in The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. A History of Father and Son. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC:

     The born preacher we feel instinctively to be our foe. He may do some good to the wretches that have been struck down and lie gasping on the battlefield: he rouses antagonism in the strong.

• evangelist
• proselytizer