priestlinessn.
/ˈpriːs(t)lɪnᵻs/, U.S. /ˈpris(t)linᵻs/ Priestly quality or character.
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society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > priest > [noun] > priestly character
sacerdotality1668
priestliness1681
sacerdotalness1727
1681 Whole Duty of Nations 22 Cloath'd with that Denomination of Priestliness, use hath appropriated to it.
1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Sacerdotalness, Priestliness, or Likeness to a Priest.
1870 B. Disraeli Lothair (new ed.) xliv The Bishop..had now..to restrain his exuberant priestliness.
1897 R. C. Moberly Ministerial Priesthood vii. §3. 263 The true priestliness necessarily carries with it the pastoral character: the real pastoral character is but an expression, in outward life, of priestliness.
1931 Frederick (Maryland) Post 13 June 1/5 More depends upon your priestliness than upon your learning.
2003 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 19 July 13 There is a humility, a sort of Anglican priestliness, almost, to the way in which he speaks.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1681