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Origin and history of priestridden

priestridden(adj.)

also priest-ridden, "managed or governed by priests," usually in a negative or hostile sense, 1650s, from priest + ridden.

also from 1650s

Entries linking to priestridden

priest(n.)

Middle English prēst, "cleric ranking below a bishop and above a deacon, a parish priest," from Old English preost, which probably was shortened from the older Germanic form represented by Old Saxon and Old High German prestar, Old Frisian prestere, all from Vulgar Latin *prester "priest," from Late Latin presbyter "presbyter, elder," from Greek presbyteros "elder (of two), old, venerable," comparative of presbys "old" (see presby-).

In Middle English also used generally for any man holding high Church office or anyone duly authorized to be a minister of sacred things; from c. 1200 of pagan and Muslim religious leaders. In the Old Testament sense (Old English), it is a translation of Hebrew kohen, Greek hiereus, Latin sacerdos.

ridden(adj.)

mid-14c., "that has ridden or travelled," past-participle adjective from ride (v.). The sense evolution, via horses, is from "that which has been ridden upon" to "broken in" (1520s) to, in compounds, "oppressed, taken advantage of" (c. 1600s, wife-ridden; also compare hag-ridden). In reference to witches, nightmares, etc., "to sit on or to ride as a horse" by 1590s.

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    magistrate
    late 14c., "a civil officer in charge of administering laws," also "office or function of a magistrate," from Old French magistrat, from Latin magistratus "a magistrate, public functionary," originally "magisterial rank or office," from magistrare "serve as a magistrate," from ma
    attention
    late 14c., attencioun, "a giving heed, active direction of the mind upon some object or topic," from Old French attencion and directly from Latin attentionem (nominative attentio) "attention, attentiveness," noun of action from past-participle stem of attendere "give heed to," li
    cardinal
    early 12c., "one of the ecclesiastical princes who constitute the sacred college," from Medieval Latin cardinalis, originally as a noun "one of the presbyters of the chief (cardinal) churches of Rome," short for cardinalis ecclesiae Romanae or episcopus cardinalis, from Latin car
    figure
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    innovation
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    prosper
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    romance
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    scale
    [one of the skin plates on fish or snakes] c. 1300, from Old French escale "cup, scale, shell pod, husk" (12c., Modern French écale), from Frankish *skala or some other Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *skæla "to split, divide" (source also of Dutch schaal "a scale, husk," Ol
    compass
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