heiligegeestmeester
Dutch
Alternative forms
- heiliggeestmeester
- Heilige-Geestmeester
- Heilige Geestmeester
Etymology
Compound of Heilige Geest (“Holy Ghost”) + meester (“master”). The Holy Spirit was historically associated with charity for the poor in Western Christendom.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɦɛi̯.lə.ɣəˈɣeːstˌmeːs.tər/
- Hyphenation: hei‧li‧ge‧geest‧mees‧ter
Noun
heiligegeestmeester m (plural heiligegeestmeesters)
- (historical) An official tasked by a local civic authority under the Ancien Régime to provide support for the poor; in practice often performed by ecclesiastical office-holders, mainly restricted to Protestants until the eighteenth century.