parson

noun

1. a member of the clergy, especially a Protestant minister; pastor; rector.
2. the holder or incumbent of a parochial benefice, especially an Anglican.

noun

1. a parish priest in the Church of England, formerly applied only to those who held ecclesiastical benefices
2. any clergyman
3. NZ a nonconformist minister

n.late 12c., from Anglo-French and Old French persone “curate, parson, holder of Church office” (12c.), from Medieval Latin persona “parson” (see person). Ecclesiastical use is obscure; it might refer to the “person” legally holding church property, or it may be an abbreviation of persona ecclesiae “person of the church.”