PRIESTHOOD

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

Meaning:

The body of ordained religious practitioners

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("priesthood" is a kind of...):

profession (the body of people in a learned occupation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "priesthood"):

ministry (religious ministers collectively (especially Presbyterian))

rabbinate (rabbis collectively)

clergy (in Christianity, clergymen collectively (as distinguished from the laity))

Derivation:

priest (a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders)

priest (a person who performs religious duties and ceremonies in a non-Christian religion)