altar boy

al·tar boy

A a

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [awl-ter boi]
- /ˈɔl tər bɔɪ/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [awl-ter boi]
- /ˈɔl tər bɔɪ/

Definitions of altar boy words

countable noun altar boy In the Roman Catholic church, an altar boy is a boy who helps the priest during Mass. 3
noun altar boy a boy serving as an acolyte 3
noun altar boy a boy or man who acts as a server, esp. at Mass, but who has not been officially appointed or delegated to the ministry of acolyte 3
noun altar boy a male altar server. 1
noun altar boy boy: church assistant 1
noun altar boy boy: well-behaved 1

See all 8 definitions of altar boy

Information block about the term

Origin of altar boy

First appearance:

before 1765

One of the 46% newest English words

First recorded in 1765-75

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Altar boy

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Altar boy

altar boy popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 40% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 58% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

altar boy usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for altar boy

noun altar boy

acolyte — An acolyte is a follower or assistant of an important person.

Just one Synonym for altar boy