overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

priest.

A religious clergyman (clergywoman, clergyperson) who is trained to perform services or sacrifices at a church or temple.

6 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈpɹiːst/[ˈpɹ̥iːst]
  1. A religious clergyman (clergywoman, clergyperson) who is trained to perform services or sacrifices at a church or temple.

    The priest at the Catholic church heard his confession.
    The Shinto priest burnt incense for his ancestors.
  2. A blunt tool, used for quickly stunning and killing fish.

  3. The highest office in the Aaronic priesthood.

    Mormonism
Where this word comes from

From Middle English prest, preest, from Old English prēost (“priest”), from Late Latin presbyter, from Ancient Greek πρεσβύτερος (presbúteros), from πρέσβυς (présbus, “elder, older”). Reinforced in Middle English by Old French prestre, also from Latin presbyter. Doublet of presbyter and prester. * The Tyndale Bible uses native English elder instead.

verb/ˈpɹiːst/[ˈpɹ̥iːst]
  1. To ordain as a priest.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English prest, preest, from Old English prēost (“priest”), from Late Latin presbyter, from Ancient Greek πρεσβύτερος (presbúteros), from πρέσβυς (présbus, “elder, older”). Reinforced in Middle English by Old French prestre, also from Latin presbyter. Doublet of presbyter and prester. * The Tyndale Bible uses native English elder instead.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

priest has 6 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

priest studiopriest workshello, priest

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.