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

1. priest(noun)

   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 priest(noun)

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

Wiktionary(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. priest(Noun)

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

2. priest(Noun)

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

3. priest(Noun)

   The highest office in the Aaronic priesthood.

Origin: 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. Priest(noun)

   a presbyter elder; a minister

2. Priest(noun)

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

3. Priest(noun)

   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. Priest(noun)

   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. Priest(verb)

   to ordain as priest

Origin: [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.

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

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

Sample Sentences & Example Usage

1. Wallace Stevens:

   The poet is the priest of the invisible.

2. Jeremy David:

   What's more important is there is a priest in our village.

3. Oscar Wilde:

   It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.

4. Edward Kwon:

   Please don't laugh about it -- I wanted to be a priest when I was a kid.

5. Lynda De La Vina:

   We were accusing a priest that -- in those days priests were infallible.

Images & Illustrations of priest

Popularity rank by frequency of use