Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Priest
Priest
,Noun.
1.
(Christian Church)
A presbyter elder; a minister
; specifically: (a)
(R. C. Ch. & Gr. Ch.)
One who is authorized to consecrate the host and to say Mass; but especially, one of the lowest order possessing this power.
Murdock.
(b)
(Ch. of Eng. & Prot. Epis. Ch.)
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.
2.
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;
“The priests of Dagon.” as, Buddhist
. priests
1 Sam. v. 5.
Then the
priest
of Jupiter . . . brought oxen and garlands . . . and would have done sacrifice with the people. Acts xiv. 13.
Every
priest
taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. Heb. v. 1.
☞ In the New Testament presbyters are not called priests; but Christ is designated as a priest, and as a high priest, and all Christians are designated priests.
Priest
,Verb.
T.
To ordain as priest.
Webster 1828 Edition
Priest
PRIEST
,Noun.
1.
A man who officiates in sacred offices. Among pagans, priests were persons whose appropriate business was to offer sacrifices and perform other sacred rites of religion. In primitive ages, the fathers of families, princes and kings were priests. Thus Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Melchizedek,Job, Isaac and Jacob offered their own sacrifices. In the days of Moses, the office of priest was restricted to the tribe of Levi, and the priesthood consisted of three orders, the high priest, the priests, and the Levites, and the office was made hereditary in the family of Aaron.Every priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. Heb.5.
2.
In the modern church, a person who is set apart or consecrated to the ministry of the gospel; a man in orders or licensed to preach the gospel; a presbyter. In its most general sense, the word includes archbishops, bishops, patriarchs, and all subordinate orders of the clergy, duly approved and licensed according to the forms and rules of each respective denomination of christians; as all these orders 'are ordained for men in things pertaining to God.' But in Great Britain, the word is understood to denote the subordinate orders of the clergy, above a deacon and below a bishop. In the United States, the word denotes any licensed minister of the gospel.Definition 2024
Priest
Priest
See also: priest
English
Proper noun
Priest
- A surname.
- Graham Priest. A philosopher and logician who invented dialetheism the belief that a statement can be true and false at the same time and in the same senses of the words.
priest
priest
See also: Priest
English
Noun
priest (plural priests, feminine priestess)
- A religious clergyman who is trained to perform services or sacrifices at a church or temple.
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 10, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
- It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.
- The priest at the Catholic church heard his confession.
- The Shinto priest burnt incense for his ancestors.
- The Israelite priests were descended from Moses' brother Aaron.
-
- A blunt tool, used for quickly stunning and killing fish.
- (Mormonism) The highest office in the Aaronic priesthood.
Derived terms
Terms derived from priest
Coordinate terms
Translations
clergyman
|
|
tool for killing fish
See also
References
- “Lesson 7: Duties of the Priest”, in Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood, Part A, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2000, page 48
- Smart, Alastair Fish Welfare at Harvest: Killing Me Softly
- Comparison of Common Slaughter Methods for Farmed Finfish Seafood innovations.
Verb
priest (third-person singular simple present priests, present participle priesting, simple past and past participle priested)
- (transitive) To ordain as a priest.
- 1610, Alexander Cooke, Pope Joane, in William Oldys, editor, The Harleian Miscellany: or, A Collection of Scarce, Curious, and Entertaining Pamphlets and Tracts, as well in Manuscript as in Print, Found in the Late Earl of Oxford's Library: Interspersed with Historical, Political, and Critical Notes: With a Table of the Contents, and an Alphabetical Index, volume IV, London: Printed for T[homas] Osborne, in Gray's-Inn, 1744, OCLC 5325177; republished as John Maltham, editor, The Harleian Miscellany; or, A Collection of Scarce, Curious, and Entertaining Pamphlets and Tracts, as well in Manuscript as in Print, Found in the Late Earl of Oxford's Library, Interspersed with Historical, Political, and Critical Notes, volume IV, London: Printed for R. Dutton, 1808–1811, OCLC 30776079, page 95:
- If there bee any lasie fellow, any that cannot away with worke, any that would wallow in pleasures, hee is hastie to be priested. And when hee is made one, and has gotten a benefice, he consorts with his neighbour priests, who are altogether given to pleasures; and then both hee, and they, live, not like Christians, but like epicures; drinking, eating, feasting, and revelling, till the cow come home, as the saying is.
- 1610, Alexander Cooke, Pope Joane, in William Oldys, editor, The Harleian Miscellany: or, A Collection of Scarce, Curious, and Entertaining Pamphlets and Tracts, as well in Manuscript as in Print, Found in the Late Earl of Oxford's Library: Interspersed with Historical, Political, and Critical Notes: With a Table of the Contents, and an Alphabetical Index, volume IV, London: Printed for T[homas] Osborne, in Gray's-Inn, 1744, OCLC 5325177; republished as John Maltham, editor, The Harleian Miscellany; or, A Collection of Scarce, Curious, and Entertaining Pamphlets and Tracts, as well in Manuscript as in Print, Found in the Late Earl of Oxford's Library, Interspersed with Historical, Political, and Critical Notes, volume IV, London: Printed for R. Dutton, 1808–1811, OCLC 30776079, page 95: