Priestesses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A female member of a religious order who performs sacred rituals and serves as a mediator between the divine and worshippers
2. A woman designated to carry out religious ceremonies, often holding a position of authority within a spiritual context
3. An individual who engages in the practice of spirituality or religious observance, playing a pivotal role in leading others in faith-based activities

Etymology: "Priestesses" is the plural of "priestess," which is simply "priest" with the feminine suffix "-ess" attached. That suffix came into English from Old French and was used widely to mark women who held a role or title, such as "actress" or "waitress." A Middle English form, "preesteresse," shows the same construction in use before the modern spelling settled. The more unexpected link is with "presbyteress," a term for a woman elder or a female member of a presbytery in some churches. The two words are what linguists call a piecewise doublet: they split from the same Greek root, "presbyteros," meaning "elder," by way of different routes. "Priest" descends from that Greek word through Late Latin and Old English, while "presbyter" was taken into English directly, so the two forms ended up as near-relatives that carry the same underlying sense of an elder or leader.

Synonyms: female priest, clergywoman