cel·e·brant

(sĕl′ə-brənt)

a. A person who participates in a religious ceremony or rite.

b. A person who officiates at a religious or civil ceremony or rite, especially a wedding.

c. In some Christian churches, the cleric officiating at the celebration of the Eucharist.

2. A participant in a celebration.

Usage Note: Celebrant originally referred to an official participant in a religious ceremony or rite. In the United States, celebrant developed an extended meaning: "a participant in a celebration," as in The New Year's Eve celebrants went wild at the stroke of midnight. As far back as 1965, half of the Usage Panel accepted this extended sense, and over the years, the margin of approval by the Panel has increased. By 2006, 80 percent of the Panel accepted this usage.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

celebrant

(ˈsɛlɪbrənt)

1. a person participating in a religious ceremony

2. (Ecclesiastical Terms) Christianity an officiating priest, esp at the Eucharist

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cel•e•brant

(ˈsɛl ə brənt)

n.

1. a participant in any celebration.

2. the officiating priest in the celebration of the Eucharist.

[1830–40; < Latin]

celebrant

, celebrator, reveler - Celebrants take part in religious ceremonies; celebrators or revelers gather for purposes of revelry.

celebrant

[ˈselɪbrənt] N → celebrante m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

celebrant

n (Eccl) → Zelebrant m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

The monotonous chanting of the celebrants, the responses of the people to the priest, sometimes inarticulate, sometimes thunderous, the harmonious trembling of the painted windows, the organ, bursting forth like a hundred trumpets, the three belfries, humming like hives of huge bees, that whole orchestra on which bounded a gigantic scale, ascending, descending incessantly from the voice of a throng to that of one bell, dulled her memory, her imagination, her grief.

View in context

In the Roman Catholic Church feasts are "movable" and "immovable," but the celebrants are uniformly immovable until they are full.

View in context

Before the day concluded, each celebrant was personally honored on stage in front of and along with their fellow five-year survivors.

Cancer survivor from Elk Grove joins others in celebration

Defining a humanist wedding as "a nonreligious ceremony that is deeply personal and conducted by a humanist celebrant," Humanists UK attribute the high rate of success to the time put into personalizing a humanist ceremony, working with a celebrant who shares the couples humanist values, and articulating what the union is and aspires to be.

HAPPY HUMANIST COUPLES

JILL LAW AGE: 44 LOCATION: KING'S GATE JOB: HUMANIST WEDDING CELEBRANT FAVOURITE SHOPS: ZARA, TOPSHOP, INSTAGRAM BOUTIQUES STYLE HUMANIST wedding celebrant Jill was wearing a beige turtleneck, sleek white blazer, ripped skinny jeans and tan ankle boots.

STREET STYLE

FORMER TV star Carol Smillie has revealed she has married her first couple less than a year after becoming a humanist celebrant.

TV Smillie weds her first couple

The former TV star has officially married her first couple after becoming a humanist celebrant.

Carol Smillie unveils unusual second job as she MARRIES her first couple; The TV presenter qualified as a humanist celebrant last year and was thrilled to be able to help one happy couple say 'I do'

The celebrant, iin this case Pope Francis, and other ministers enter in procession and reverence the altar with a bow and/or a kiss.

Pope in UAE: The Roman Catholic Mass explained

Celebrant, king of dragons, and his new evil ally, Ronodin, the dark unicorn, are out to get the Dominion Stone - a powerful relic.

Dragonwatch: Wrath of the Dragon King

Magdangal's 'Magandang Buhay' co-hosts Karla Estrada and Melai Cantiveros greeted her a happy birthday, along with sharing photos with the celebrant.

LOOK: Jolina Magdangal showered with love on her 40th birthday

"Even the celebrant at the ceremony felt obliged to apologise to us for the lack of cleanliness.

Mourners 'appalled' at state of crematorium

The girl told police she drank with the celebrant and other guests and later decided to sleep in one of the bedrooms, where the suspect reportedly raped her.

Man arrested for raping girl at party in San Juan

Noun	1.	celebrant - a person who is celebrating celebrater, celebrator individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do" merrymaker, reveler, reveller - a celebrant who shares in a noisy party; "the clubs attract revelers as young as thirteen"
	2.	celebrant - an officiating priest celebrating the Eucharist priest - a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders