Levite

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Bible A member of the tribe of Levi but not descended from Aaron and, if male, chosen to assist the Temple priests.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In Jewish hist., a descendant of Levi, one of the sons of Jacob; one of the tribe of Levi.
2. n. Specifically, one of a body of assistants to the priests in the tabernacle and temple service of the Jews. This body was composed of all males of the tribe of Levi between 30 (or 25) and 50 years of age, exclusive of the family of Aaron, which constituted the priesthood. Originally they guarded the tabernacle, and assisted in carrying it and its vessels, and in preparing the corn, wine, oil, etc., for sacrifice; they furnished the music at the services, and had charge of the sacred treasures and revenues. After the settlement in Palestine they were relieved of some of these duties, but assumed those of religious guides and teachers. Later they were also the learned class, and became scribes, judges, etc. They were allowed no territorial possessions, except thirty-five cities in which they lived, supported by tithes on the produce of the lands of the tribes. The Levites were divided into three families, which bore the names of the sons of Levi—the Gershonites, the Kohathites, and the Merarites.
3. n. Hence In the early Christian church, a deacon as distinguished from a priest.
4. n. A priest; a clergyman: often in slight contempt.
5. n. A fashionable dress for women, introduced about 1780. It was satirized by Horace Walpole as resembling “a man's night-gown bound round with a belt.”

Wiktionary

1. n. A member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Bib. Hist.) One of the tribe or family of Levi; a descendant of Levi; esp., one subordinate to the priests (who were of the same tribe) and employed in various duties connected with the tabernacle first, and afterward the temple, such as the care of the building, bringing of wood and other necessaries for the sacrifices, the music of the services, etc.
2. n. A priest; -- so called in contempt or ridicule.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi (especially the branch that provided male assistants to the temple priests)