Other forms: priestesses
A priestess is a woman who performs sacred rites. A temple priestess, the high priestess, serve as priestess.
It is used almost entirely of ancient and non-Christian religions; in churches that ordain women, the word is priest and not priestess. High Priestess is also a card in the tarot pack. The -ess ending is now avoided in most job titles.
1nounpriestessA woman who performs sacred rites.
“In ancient Greece, a priestess at Delphi spoke the words of the god Apollo.”
priestess is a religious officer.
Priest plus -ess, the feminine ending taken from French.
Proto-Indo-European
*per-
Old French
prestre
Ancient Greek
πρεσβύτερος
Latin
presbyter
Old English
preost — priest
Middle English
prest
English
priest
English, today
priestess
Built from
From priest + ess. Compare Middle English preesteresse (“priestess”). presbyteress. priest comes from Middle English prest, preest, from Old English preost (“priest”), from Latin presbyter, from Ancient Greek πρεσβύτερος, from πρέσβυς (“elder, older”). Reinforced in Middle English by Old French prestre, also from Latin presbyter. a doublet of presbyter and prester.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA