high priest

See also: highpriest

English

Alternative forms

• highpriest

Noun

high priest (plural high priests)

1. (religion) A clergyman with a higher function than a normal priest.
2. In the Bible, the male individual who was responsible for making the annual sacrifice on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur); always a descendant of Aaron, the older brother of Moses.
3. (Christianity) Jesus Christ.
4. (Mormonism) The second-lowest office in the Melchizedek priesthood.

   Jake was ordained a high priest when he was called to be a counselor in a bishopric.

5. A person holding a position of power or influence; an authority in a field of study, doctrine, art or a movement.
   • 2011, Robert Skidelsky, The Keynes-Hayek Rematch:

     The global economic collapse of 2007-2008 discredited “rational expectations” economics (though its high priests have yet to recognize this) and brought both Keynes and Hayek back into posthumous contention.

   • 2020 June 23, John Bolton, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 172:

     The high priest of US arms controllers

6. (Wicca) A second or third degree male witch in Wicca.

Synonyms

• abbot (leader of a Christian or Buddhist monastery)
• archbishop
• godi (high priest in some Asatru or Germanic neopagan groups)
• head priest, chief priest (high priest of a local temple or shrine)
• mahant (high priest in some Hindu temples)
• volkhv (high priest in some Slavic neopagan temples)

Coordinate terms

• high priestess

Derived terms

• highpriesthood
• highpriestly
• highpriestship

Related terms

• high church, High Mass

Translations

high clergyman

• Akkadian: 𒂗 m (enu)
• Bulgarian: първосвеще́ник (bg) m (pǎrvosvešténik), върхо́вен жрец (vǎrhóven žrec)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 大祭司 (daai⁶ zai³ si¹)

  Mandarin: 大祭司 (zh) (dà jìsī), 儒生 (zh) (rúshēng) (Confucian high priest)

• Coptic: ⲁⲣⲭⲓⲉⲣⲉⲩⲥ m (arkhiereus)
• Dutch: hogepriester (nl) m
• Egyptian: (ḥm-nṯr tpj m)
• Finnish: ylipappi (fi)
• French: grand prêtre (fr) m, grand-prêtre (fr) m
• German: Hohepriester (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀρχιερεύς m (arkhiereús)

• Hindi: महान्त m (mahānt) (in some temples as a leader)
• Hungarian: főpap (hu)
• Irish: ardsagart m, uachtarán na sagart m
• Italian: sommo sacerdote m
• Japanese: 大祭司 (ja) (だいさいし, daisaishi), 宮司 (ja) (ぐうじ, guuji) (head priest of a Shinto shrine), 住職 (ja) (juushoku) (abbot of a Buddhist temple)
• Latin: pontifex, antistes m
• Macedonian: првосвештеник m (prvosveštenik)
• Malay: paderi tinggi
• Manx: ard-saggyrt m
• Plautdietsch: Huagapriesta m
• Polish: arcykapłan (pl) m
• Portuguese: sumo sacerdote m
• Romanian: mare preot (ro) m
• Russian: первосвяще́нник (ru) m (pervosvjaščénnik), волхв (ru) m (volxv) (Slavic neopaganaism)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: главни свештеник, главни жрец

  Roman: glavni sveštenik, glavni žrec

• Spanish: sumo sacerdote m
• Thai: มหาปุโรหิต
• Ugaritic: 𐎗𐎁 𐎋𐎅𐎐 (rb khn)
• Yup'ik: allgiliyaq

Bible: male person responsible for making the annual sacrifice

• Dutch: Hogepriester m
• Finnish: ylipappi (fi)
• French: Grand Prêtre m, souverain sacrificateur m, Grand-prêtre m
• German: Hoherpriester (de) m
• Gothic: 𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂𐌲𐌿𐌳𐌾𐌰 m (ufargudja)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀρχιερεύς m (arkhiereús)

• Italian: sommo sacerdote m
• Plautdietsch: Huagepriesta m
• Swahili: Kuhani Mkuu

Jesus Christ — see Jesus Christ

office in Mormonism

• Finnish: ylipappi (fi)
• Macedonian: првосвештеник m (prvosveštenik)
• Polish: arcykapłan (pl) m
• Russian: первосвяще́нник (ru) m (pervosvjaščénnik)

powerful person, authority

• Finnish: auktoriteetti (fi), guru (fi)

Wicca: third or fourth degree male witch

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} ĉefpastro

References

"High Priest," Bible Dictionary, The Official Scriptures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2006.