Priester

See also: priester

German

Etymology

From Middle High German priester, from Old High German priester, borrowed around 700 (after the High German consonant shift, but before the diphthongisation of West Germanic ē) from pre-Old French prestre, from Latin presbyter, from Ancient Greek πρεσβύτερος (presbúteros). Doublet of Presbyter. Immediately cognate with Dutch priester, Low German Preester, French prêtre. Compare also English priest. An earlier West Germanic word for “priest” is Pfaffe, which remained in use alongside Priester during the Middle Ages, but has had a pejorative tone since the Reformation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpriːstər/, [ˈpʁiːstɐ]

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Noun

Priester m (strong, genitive Priesters, plural Priester, feminine Priesterin)

1. (religion) priest

   Synonyms: Hierodule, Kultdiener

   1. (Roman Catholicism) priest, presbyter (man who has received the sacrament of ordination)
   2. (Christianity, chiefly Protestantism) priest (every believer)

Usage notes

• (every believer): Universal priesthood is also taught by the Catholic Church, which however distinguishes between different degrees of priesthood and uses the word Priester, like the English word priest, chiefly in the narrower sense as above.

Declension

Declension of Priester [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Priester	die	Priester
genitive	eines	des	Priesters	der	Priester
dative	einem	dem	Priester	den	Priestern
accusative	einen	den	Priester	die	Priester

Derived terms

• Hohepriester
• Priesteramt
• priesterhaft
• priesterlich
• Priestermangel
• Priesterschaft
• Priesterseminar
• Priestertum
• Priesterweihe
• Schweinepriester

See also

• Pastor
• Pfaffe (derogatory)
• Pfarrer

Further reading

• “Priester” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Priester” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Priester” in Duden online

Hunsrik

Etymology

From Middle High German priester, from Old High German priestar, borrowed from Old French prestre. Cognate with German Priester.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpriːʃta/
• Rhymes: -iːʃta
• Syllabification: Pries‧ter

Noun

Priester m (plural Priester)

1. (Roman Catholicism) priest

   Synonym: Paater

   • 2021, Piter Kehoma Boll, “Priester”, in Dicionário Hunsriqueano Riograndense–Português, 3rd edition (overall work in Portuguese), Ivoti: Riograndenser Hunsrickisch, page 126, column 2:

     Do is en neier Priester in de Kerrich.

     There's a new priest in church.