Meanings
nounprioress (plural prioresses)
plural prioresses
- A nun in charge of a priory (usually lower in rank than an abbess); mother superior.
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Frenchprioresse
- Medieval Latinpriōrissa
- Middle Englishprieresse
- Englishprioress
From Middle English prieresse, priorasse, priores, prioresse, priorisse, priouresse, priures, priuresse, prowres, pryoras, pryorys, pryowresse, from Medieval Latin priōrissa and Old French prioresse, prieuresse; equivalent to prior + -ess.
More words from Middle English, Medieval Latin, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan priora, prioressa
- prioraa nun in charge of a priory
- prioressaa nun in charge of a priory
French prieure, prieuresse
- prieurea nun in charge of a priory
- prieuressea nun in charge of a priory
German Priorin
- Priorina nun in charge of a priory
Irish banphrióir
- banphrióira nun in charge of a priory
Latin priorissa
- priorissaa nun in charge of a priory
Norwegian Bokmål priorinne
- priorinnea nun in charge of a priory
Polish przeorysza
- przeoryszaa nun in charge of a priory
Romanian prioră
- priorăa nun in charge of a priory
Russian настоя́тельница
- настоя́тельница (nastojátelʹnica)a nun in charge of a priory
Spanish priora
- prioraa nun in charge of a priory
Cite this entry
APA
prioress. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prioress
MLA
“prioress.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prioress. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “prioress,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prioress.
Source: prioress on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.