Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Deaconess

Deaconess , noun

(Ecclesiastical) A female deacon
(a)
(Ecclesiastical) One of an order of women whose duties resembled those of deacons.
(b)
(Ecclesiastical) A woman set apart for church work by a bishop.
(c)
(Ecclesiastical) A woman chosen as a helper in church work, as among the Congregationalists.