Where does “priest” come from?
Priest comes from Middle English preest, Old English prēost, and Latin presbyter, ultimately from Latin premere meaning "to press," itself from Proto-Indo-European per-.
priest (English): a religious clergyman who is trained to perform...
Definitions
- a religious clergyman who is trained to perform...
Ancestry of “priest”, step by step
priest traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English prest
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | prest | loan, borrowing; tax, fee, levy; advance payment |
| 2 | Old French | prest | loan; monetary gift |
| 3 | Latin | pressus | pressed, having been pressed, squeezed;... |
| 4 | Latin | premere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 5 | Latin | premo | I press; I pursue |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pres- | to press |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via Old French prestre
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | prestre | priest |