WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Par"son
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [OE. persone person, parson, OF. persone, F. personne person, LL. persona (sc. ecclesiae), fr. L. persona a person. See Person.]
Definition : 1. (Eng. Eccl. Law)

Defn: A person who represents a parish in its ecclesiastical and corporate capacities; hence, the rector or incumbent of a parochial church, who has full possession of all the rights thereof, with the cure of souls.

2. Any clergyman having ecclesiastical preferment; one who is in orders, or is licensed to preach; a preacher. He hears the parson pray and preach. Longfellow. Parson bird (Zo?l.), a New Zealand bird (Prosthemadera Nov?seelandi?) remarkable for its powers of mimicry and its ability to articulate words. Its color is glossy black, with a curious tuft of long, curly, white feathers on each side of the throat. It is often kept as a cage bird.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913