means A government department responsible for a specific area of public affairs, or more broadly the act of serving and tending to others, especially in a religious context.

from From Latin 'ministerium' meaning service or attendance, built on 'minister' — a servant or attendant. That 'minister' itself contrasts neatly with 'magister' (master): 'minus' (less) versus 'magis' (more). So a minister was originally the lesser one, the one who serves — a humble root for a word that now names the people running entire nations. It arrived in English via Old French 'ministere.'