field preachern.
/ˈfiːld ˌpriːtʃə/, U.S. /ˈfil(d) ˌpritʃər/ Now historical.
A person who preaches in the open air, esp. a nonconformist or dissenting sermonizer. Cf. field conventicler n.See also old field preacher n.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > preacher > [noun] > open-air
field preacher1678
street preacher1769
1678 J. Brown Hist. Indulgence 17 That the House, and Field Preachers might not be molested.
1688 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. IV. 148 Balfour..is a Scotch field-preacher.
1755 Connoisseur No. 86 The spirited harangues of our..field-preachers.
1786 Daily Universal Reg. 10 Aug. Among the greatest evils of the day may be reckoned field-preachers, quack-doctors, and pettyfogging attornies.
1839 W. B. Stonehouse Hist. Isle of Axholme 209 He [sc. Wesley] commenced field preacher; and itinerancy followed as a natural consequence.
1876 Times 26 Oct. 7/3 The man with the three sticks, the road-side conjuror, the cheap jack, the fortune-teller, and even the field preacher, have all of them for a little while their little knots of attendants.
1900 Times 2 Feb. 13/6 George Whitefield, the first, most famous, and most moving of field preachers.
1957 Ethics 67 258/1 To him belongs the very great credit of having raised his voice against the prevailing current, and doing so with all the fervor of a Methodist field preacher.
1991 R. Davies Murther & Walking Spirits iii. viii. 114 Young Wesley is a field preacher of that nasty group of craw-thumpers who are beginning to call themselves Methodists.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1678