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Webster 1913 Edition

Priest

Priest

,
Noun.
[OE.
prest
,
preost
, AS.
preóst
, fr. L.
presbyter
, Gr. [GREEK] elder, older, n., an elder, compar. of [GREEK] an old man, the first syllable of which is probably akin to L.
pristinus
. Cf.
Pristine
,
Presbyter
.]
1.
(Christian Church)
A presbyter elder; a minister
; specifically:
(a)
(R. C. Ch. & Gr. Ch.)
One who is authorized to consecrate the host and to say Mass; but especially, one of the lowest order possessing this power.
Murdock.
(b)
(Ch. of Eng. & Prot. Epis. Ch.)
A presbyter; one who belongs to the intermediate order between bishop and deacon. He is authorized to perform all ministerial services except those of ordination and confirmation.
2.
One who officiates at the altar, or performs the rites of sacrifice; one who acts as a mediator between men and the divinity or the gods in any form of religion;
as, Buddhist
priests
.
“The priests of Dagon.”
1 Sam. v. 5.
Then the
priest
of Jupiter . . . brought oxen and garlands . . . and would have done sacrifice with the people.
Acts xiv. 13.
Every
priest
taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.
Heb. v. 1.
☞ In the New Testament presbyters are not called priests; but Christ is designated as a priest, and as a high priest, and all Christians are designated priests.

Priest

,
Verb.
T.
To ordain as priest.

Webster 1828 Edition

Priest

PRIEST

,
Noun.
[L. proestes, a chief, one that presides; proe, before,and sto, to stand, or sisto.]
1.
A man who officiates in sacred offices. Among pagans, priests were persons whose appropriate business was to offer sacrifices and perform other sacred rites of religion. In primitive ages, the fathers of families, princes and kings were priests. Thus Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Melchizedek,Job, Isaac and Jacob offered their own sacrifices. In the days of Moses, the office of priest was restricted to the tribe of Levi, and the priesthood consisted of three orders, the high priest, the priests, and the Levites, and the office was made hereditary in the family of Aaron.
Every priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. Heb.5.
2.
In the modern church, a person who is set apart or consecrated to the ministry of the gospel; a man in orders or licensed to preach the gospel; a presbyter. In its most general sense, the word includes archbishops, bishops, patriarchs, and all subordinate orders of the clergy, duly approved and licensed according to the forms and rules of each respective denomination of christians; as all these orders 'are ordained for men in things pertaining to God.' But in Great Britain, the word is understood to denote the subordinate orders of the clergy, above a deacon and below a bishop. In the United States, the word denotes any licensed minister of the gospel.

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