leopard-skin priestn.
/ˌlɛpədskɪn ˈpriːst/, U.S. /ˌlɛpərdˌskɪn ˈprist/ 1. An ancient Egyptian officiating priest who wore a distinctive robe made from leopard skin; = Sem n.
ΚΠ
1837 J. G. Wilkinson Manners & Customs Anc. Egyptians I. iii. 277 That class of priests who wore the leopard-skin dress.]
1856 A. W. Brown Hist. & Antiq. Bells in Associated Archit. Societies' Rep. & Papers (1858) 4 ii. 297 They [sc. onions] were sacred to the Dead, and offered to them, but only by the Leopard-skin priests, i.e. high priests.
1978 C. W. Schwabe Cattle, Priests, & Progress Med. ii. 94 Probably Bes was originally a..leopard-skin priest.
2015 J. Heath Archaeology Hotspot Egypt ii. 66 In one of the caskets, there was a leopard-skin priest's robe decorated with gold and silver stars.
2. Among the Nuer of south-eastern Sudan and Ethiopia: a religious leader who wears ceremonial clothing made from leopard skin, and whose role is to mediate and resolve disputes, and perform rites of reconciliation to end blood feuds; = leopard-skin chief n.
ΚΠ
1951 Jrnl. Royal Anthropol. Inst. 81 3/1 The leopard-skin priests, although they have received their powers from God, are in themselves wholly of the earth.
2007 Jrnl. Southern Afr. Stud. 33 855 Amongst the Nuer of Southern Sudan..the murderer had a mystical bond with the victim and was so polluted that only a leopard-skin priest could cure him through blood-letting.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2022).
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