Definitions for priest
pristpriest

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. priestnoun

   a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders

2. priest, non-Christian priestnoun

   a person who performs religious duties and ceremonies in a non-Christian religion

Wiktionary(2.00 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. priestnoun

   A religious clergyman who is trained to perform services or sacrifices at a church or temple.

2. priestnoun

   A blunt tool, used for quickly stunning and killing fish.

3. priestnoun

   The highest office in the Aaronic priesthood.

4. Etymology: From preist, preest, from preost, from presbyter, from πρεσβύτερος, from πρέσβυς. Reinforced in Middle English by prestre, also from Latin presbyter.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Priestnoun

   a presbyter elder; a minister

2. Priestnoun

   one who is authorized to consecrate the host and to say Mass; but especially, one of the lowest order possessing this power

3. Priestnoun

   a presbyter; one who belongs to the intermediate order between bishop and deacon. He is authorized to perform all ministerial services except those of ordination and confirmation

4. Priestnoun

   one who officiates at the altar, or performs the rites of sacrifice; one who acts as a mediator between men and the divinity or the gods in any form of religion; as, Buddhist priests

5. Priestverb

   to ordain as priest

6. Etymology: [OE. prest, preost, AS. prest, fr. L. presbyter, Gr. elder, older, n., an elder, compar. of an old man, the first syllable of which is probably akin to L. pristinus. Cf. Pristine, Presbyter.]

Freebase(2.33 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Priest

   A priest or priestess is a person authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or multiple deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which also may apply to such persons collectively. Priests and priestesses have existed since the earliest of times and in the simplest societies. They exist in all or some branches of Judaism, Christianity, Shintoism, Hinduism and many other religions. They are generally regarded as having positive contact with the deity or deities of the religion to which they subscribe, often interpreting the meaning of events and performing the rituals of the religion. Priests are leaders to whom other believers will often turn for advice on spiritual matters. In many religions, being a priest or priestess is a full-time position, ruling out any other career. In other cases it is a part-time role. For example in the early history of Iceland the chieftains were titled goði, a word meaning "priest". As seen in the saga of Hrafnkell Freysgoði, however, being a priest consisted merely of offering periodic sacrifices to the Norse gods and goddesses; it was not a full-time role, nor did it involve ordination.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Priest

   prēst, n. one who offers sacrifices or officiates in sacred offices: a minister above a deacon and below a bishop: a clergyman:—fem. Priest′ess.—ns. Priest′craft, priestly policy: the schemes of priests to gain wealth or power; Priest′hood, the office or character of a priest: the priestly order.—adjs. Priest′-like, Priest′ly, pertaining to or like a priest.—n. Priest′liness.—adj. Priest′-rid′den, controlled by priests.—High priest, a chief priest, esp. the chief ecclesiastical officer in the ancient Jewish church. [A.S. preóst (O. Fr. prestre, Fr. prêtre)—L. presbyter, an elder.]

The Nuttall Encyclopedia(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Priest

   properly a man in touch with the religious life of the people, and for the most part consecrated to mediate between them and the Deity; the prophet, on the other hand, being one more in touch with the Deity, being at times so close to Him as to require a priest to mediate between him and the laity.

Matched Categories

1. • Holy Order
   • Clergyman

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'priest' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4272

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'priest' in Nouns Frequency: #1320

Anagrams for priest »

1. sitrep

2. esprit

3. sprite

4. ripest

5. stripe

How to pronounce priest?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say priest in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of priest in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of priest in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of priest in a Sentence

1. Julia Kijowska:

   This is quite a strange story, being in love with a priest, but this wasn't our main goal, i think we more focused to find a presence on screen for that character, for the lady who( for a) long time nobody touched because they didn't let them touch.

2. Sofronio Bancud:

   No priest, and no human being for that matter, deserves to be killed with utter brutality, disrespect and impunity, to kill a priest then, for whatever motive or cause, is not only unChristian and inhuman ; it is also un-Filipino.

3. Oscar Wilde:

   There is a luxury in self-reproach. When we blame ourselves, we feel that no one else has a right to blame us. It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.

4. Percy Bysshe Shelley:

   War is the statesman's game, the priest's delight, The lawyer's jest, the hired assassin's trade.

5. Roman Catholic:

   You chose as a profession the life of being a priest. It was supposed to be your job to help, not destroy.

Popularity rank by frequency of use