ostiary
/ˈɒstɪəri/noun
A doorkeeper, especially of a church; specifically a member of the lowest of the four lesser orders in the pre-Reformation Western Church, and later in the Roman Catholic Church. Now historical.
- The Roman Catholic order of ostiary was suppressed by Pope Paul VI in 1972..
Origin
Late 15th century; earliest use found in Higden's Polychronicon. From classical Latin ōstiārius ostiarius; compare -ary.