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sacerdotal

[sas-er-doht-l]
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adjective
  1. of priests; priestly.
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Origin of sacerdotal

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin sacerdōtālis, equivalent to sacerdōt- (stem of sacerdōs) priest + -ālis -al1
Related formssac·er·do·tal·ly, adverbnon·sac·er·do·tal, adjectivenon·sac·er·do·tal·ly, adverbsu·per·sac·er·do·tal, adjectivesu·per·sac·er·do·tal·ly, adverbun·sac·er·do·tal, adjectiveun·sac·er·do·tal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sacerdotal

Historical Examples

  • He did not believe in priests in their sacerdotal character.

    Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard

    Joseph Conrad

  • Freedom from sacerdotal dogma, from secular law, she has always had.

  • No, His sacerdotal qualification is of another sort and a greater.

  • For He is, what every sacerdotal minister must be, an Offerer.

  • The Oriental civilizations on the contrary were sacerdotal in character.

British Dictionary definitions for sacerdotal

sacerdotal

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of priests
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Derived Formssacerdotally, adverb

Word Origin

C14: from Latin sacerdōtālis, from sacerdōs priest, from sacer sacred
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sacerdotal

adj.

c.1400, from Old French sacerdotal and directly from Latin sacerdotalis "of or pertaining to a priest," from sacerdos (genitive sacerdotis) "priest," literally "offerer of sacrifices," from sacer "holy" (see sacred) + stem of dare "to give" (see date (n.1)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper