The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Minister \Min"is*ter\, n. [OE. ministre, F. ministre, fr. L.
   minister, orig. a double comparative from the root of minor
   less, and hence meaning, an inferior, a servant. See 1st
   Minor, and cf. Master, Minstrel.]
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   1. A servant; a subordinate; an officer or assistant of
      inferior rank; hence, an agent, an instrument.
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            Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua. --Ex. xxiv.
                                                  13.
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            I chose
            Camillo for the minister, to poison
            My friend Polixenes.                  --Shak.
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   2. An officer of justice. [Obs.]
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            I cry out the on the ministres, quod he,
            That shoulde keep and rule this cit['e]. --Chaucer.
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   3. One to whom the sovereign or executive head of a
      government intrusts the management of affairs of state, or
      some department of such affairs.
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            Ministers to kings, whose eyes, ears, and hands they
            are, must be answerable to God and man. --Bacon.
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   4. A representative of a government, sent to the court, or
      seat of government, of a foreign nation to transact
      diplomatic business.
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   Note: Ambassadors are classed (in the diplomatic sense) in
         the first rank of public ministers, ministers
         plenipotentiary in the second. "The United States
         diplomatic service employs two classes of ministers, --
         ministers plenipotentiary and ministers resident."
         --Abbott.
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   5. One who serves at the altar; one who performs sacerdotal
      duties; the pastor of a church duly authorized or licensed
      to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments.
      --Addison.
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   Syn: Delegate; official; ambassador; clergyman; parson;
        priest.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Minister \Min"is*ter\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ministered; p. pr.
   & vb. n. Ministering.] [OE. ministren, OF. ministrer, fr.
   L. ministrare. See Minister, n.]
   To furnish or apply; to afford; to supply; to administer.
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         He that ministereth seed to the sower.   --2 Cor. ix.
                                                  10.
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         We minister to God reason to suspect us. --Jer. Taylor.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Minister \Min"is*ter\, v. i.
   1. To act as a servant, attendant, or agent; to attend and
      serve; to perform service in any office, sacred or
      secular.
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            The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but
            to minister.                          --Matt. xx.
                                                  28.
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   2. To supply or to things needful; esp., to supply
      consolation or remedies; as, to minister to the sick.
      --Matt. xxv. 44.
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            Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased? --Shak.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

minister
    n 1: a person authorized to conduct religious worship;
         "clergymen are usually called ministers in Protestant
         churches" [syn: curate, minister of religion,
         minister, parson, pastor, rector]
    2: a person appointed to a high office in the government;
       "Minister of Finance" [syn: minister, government
       minister]
    3: a diplomat representing one government to another; ranks
       below ambassador [syn: minister, diplomatic minister]
    4: the job of a head of a government department
    v 1: attend to the wants and needs of others; "I have to
         minister to my mother all the time"
    2: work as a minister; "She is ministering in an old parish"

The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):

MINISTER, n.  An agent of a higher power with a lower responsibility.
In diplomacy and officer sent into a foreign country as the visible
embodiment of his sovereign's hostility.  His principal qualification
is a degree of plausible inveracity next below that of an ambassador.