Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Ministerial \Min`is*te"ri*al\, a. [L. ministerialis: cf. F.
   minist['e]riel. See {Minister}, and cf. {Minstrel}.]
   1. Of or pertaining to ministry or service; serving;
      attendant.

            Enlightening spirits and ministerial flames.
                                                  --Prior.

   2. Of or pertaining to the office of a minister or to the
      ministry as a body, whether civil or sacerdotal.
      ``Ministerial offices.'' --Bacon. ``A ministerial
      measure.'' --Junius. ``Ministerial garments.'' --Hooker.

   3. Tending to advance or promote; contributive. ``Ministerial
      to intellectual culture.'' --De Quincey.

   {The ministerial benches}, the benches in the House of
      Commons occupied by members of the cabinet and their
      supporters; -- also, the persons occupying them. ``Very
      solid and very brilliant talents distinguish the
      ministerial benches.'' --Burke.

   Syn: Official; priestly; sacerdotal; ecclesiastical.