Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The character, office, or vocation of a priest.
  • noun The clergy.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The office or character of a priest.
  • noun The order of men set apart for sacred offices; priests collectively.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The office or character of a priest; the priestly function.
  • noun Priests, taken collectively; the order of men set apart for sacred offices; the order of priests.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The role or office of a priest
  • noun Priests as a group; the clergy
  • noun Authority to act in the name of God.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the body of ordained religious practitioners

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English presthed, presthede, presthod presthode, from Old English prēosthād.

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