From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishacolyteac‧o‧lyte /ˈækəlaɪt/ noun [countable] 1 SUPPORT A PERSON, GROUP, OR PLAN formal someone who serves a leader or believes in their ideas2 RRsomeone who helps a priest at a religious ceremony
Examples from the Corpus
acolyte• I doubt there has been a more devoted acolyte of the economic gospel of Ronald Reagan than Mr Symington.• Slowly he and his acolytes processed up the center aisle, carrying the small ball of flame.• Radical activists wanted to break up the estates that once belonged to the Shah and his acolytes.• His acolyte preceded him and the two officers in charge made no move to interfere.• Courts are holding Klans responsible for the deeds of acolytes.• Mr Segni's acolytes have collected more than 600,000 signatures in favour of his three referendums.• The services are very simple with the priest celebrating and two acolytes serving.Origin acolyte (1300-1400) Old French acolite, from Medieval Latin acoluthus, from Greek, “following”, from keleuthos “path” 