tiro3

So it appears that the word deacon is considered a male term yet having both masculine and feminine grammar. Phoebe was not called a “deaconess” but a “deacon” and the name is the same as the name for the men. Whatever they were, she too would be.

OK that makes sense. I thought it was simply a term for an activity that had a male ending, but could be used for both men and women.