priestess
UK /ˈpriːstɛs/ · US /ˈpristɪs/ noun, verb
Forms priestesses priestessing priestessed priestress
- noun A woman with religious duties and responsibilities in certain religions.
- noun (religious slur, uncommon) A female Christian priest or minister, typically in a Protestant, Old Catholic, or independent Catholic denomination.
- noun (colloquial, obsolete) A priest’s wife.
- verb (transitive) To oversee (a pagan ceremony, etc.) as priestess.
Synonyms
Etymology
From priest + -ess. Compare Middle English preesteresse (“priestess”). Piecewise doublet of presbyteress.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “priestess”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details