deaconing

Verb

deacon (third-person singular simple present deacons, present participle deaconing, simple past and past participle deaconed)

1. (transitive) To ordain to the diaconate.
   • He was deaconed on the 23rd May, and priested on the 29th September, 1624, by John, Bishop of Sodar and Man.1869, George Bennett, The History of Bandon, and the Principal Towns in the West Riding of County Cork, Francis Guy, page 518
2. For a choir leader to lead a hymn by speaking one or two lines at a time, which are then sung by the choir.
3. (US, animal husbandry) To kill a calf shortly after birth.
4. (US, slang) To place fresh fruit at the top of a barrel or other container, with spoiled or imperfect fruit hidden beneath.
   • The blanc mange was lumpy, and the strawberries not as ripe as they looked, having been skilfully 'deaconed'.1868, Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
5. (US, slang) To make sly alterations to the boundaries of (land); to adulterate or doctor (an article to be sold), etc.

See all 16 meanings of deacon