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priestlike

 - 3 dictionary results

priest

  [preest]
–noun
1. a person whose office it is to perform religious rites, and esp. to make sacrificial offerings.
2. (in Christian use)
a. a person ordained to the sacerdotal or pastoral office; a member of the clergy; minister.
b. (in hierarchical churches) a member of the clergy of the order next below that of bishop, authorized to carry out the Christian ministry.
3. a minister of any religion.
–verb (used with object)
4. to ordain as a priest.
Use priestlike in a Sentence
Origin:
bef. 900; ME prest(e), priest, OE prēost, ult. < LL presbyter presbyter

Related forms:
priestless, adjective
priestlike, adjective, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Cultural Dictionary

priest

One who is designated an authority on religious matters. In some churches, especially the Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Roman Catholic Church, the ordained church leader who serves a congregation of believers is called a priest. The priests in these churches administer the sacraments, preach, and care for the needs of their congregations. (See also minister and pastor.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

priest 
O.E. preost, shortened from the older Gmc. form represented by O.S., O.H.G. prestar, O.Fris. prestere, from V.L. *prester "priest," from L.L. presbyter "presbyter, elder," from Gk. presbyteros (see Presbyterian). In O.T. sense, a transl. of Heb. kohen, Gk. hiereus, L. sacerdos. Priesthood is O.E. preosthad. Priestcraft originally was "the business of being a priest" (1483); after rise of Protestantism and the Enlightenment, it acquired a pejorative sense of "arts of ambitious priests for temporal power and social control" (1681).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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