priestcraft

American  

[preest-kraft, -krahft] / ˈpristˌkræft, -ˌkrɑft /

noun

1. the training, knowledge, and abilities necessary to a priest.

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priestcraft British  

/ ˈpriːstˌkrɑːft /

noun

1. the art and skills involved in the work of a priest

2. derogatory the influence of priests upon politics or the use by them of secular power

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Etymology

Origin of priestcraft

First recorded in 1475–85; priest + craft

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

priestcraft

In the 1820s and '30s, there was the Workingmen's Movement, pitted against the evils of "kingcraft, priestcraft and lawyercraft."

From Time Magazine Archive

So, without actually professing to be a medicine man, he had freely accorded to him all the confidence a member of the priestcraft usually enjoys.

From The Westerners by Stewart Edward White

The Reform party, led by Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Hincks, had denounced these views as the mere clap-trap of priestcraft.

From George Brown by John Lewis

It could scarcely be denied that the Schoolmasterdom of England was a priestcraft as powerful and arrogant as any which had ever been.

From Sinister Street, vol. 2 by Compton MacKenzie

I shall give two instances of predictions which came under my own observation, and which will show how much the same priestcraft has been in all times.

From Old New Zealand: being Incidents of Native Customs and Character in the Old Times by 'A Pakeha Maori'