priestess

American  

[pree-stis] / ˈpri stɪs /

noun

1. a woman who officiates in sacred rites.

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Gender

See -ess.

Etymology

Origin of priestess

First recorded in 1685–95; priest + -ess

Explanation

A priestess is a female religious figure. In ancient Greece, a priestess often dressed in the style of a goddess, wearing white robes and carrying a long staff. The word priestess is a feminine version of priest, which stems from the Old English prēost and its Greek root, presbyteros, "an elder." While hundreds of years ago a priestess was simply a female priest, today's Christians use priest whether they're talking about a man or a woman. The word priestess is used for ancient religions and occasionally pagan or Wiccan religious leaders.

Example Sentences

Earlier it was announced that Mosaku had received an Oscar supporting actress nomination for her role as Hoodoo priestess Annie in Sinners.

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2026

Warren Buffett once called him a Cassandra—the mythological Trojan priestess whose grim prophecies were ignored.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025

Researching Annie, I had to look back at where I’m from, because she’s a hoodoo priestess and hoodoo is a derivative of Ifa, and Ifa is the traditional Yoruba religion.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025

The ghost tours in New Orleans are borderline legendary, with popular offerings focusing on the supernatural, New Orleans’ “Casket Girls,” and on the origins of Marie Laveau’s rise to notoriety as a voodoo priestess.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 27, 2025

The Pythoness, Apollo’s priestess and prophetess, had found him one morning, a little baby, lying on the temple stairway, and had brought him up as tenderly as a mother.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton