priestdom

Etymology

From priest + -dom.

priestdom means Political rule or sweeping social control exercised by a class of priests; a ruling class of priests. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why this word is great

PRIESTDOM — [Noun] Political rule or sweeping social control exercised by a class of priests, or priests collectively. From priest (from Old English prēost, ultimately from Greek presbyteros, "elder") + -dom (a suffix forming nouns denoting a state, condition, or domain, from Old English -dōm). Unlike "priesthood," which denotes office or collective body, or "priestcraft," which suggests the cunning arts of influence, priestdom is the sobering, institutional fact of sacred power made manifest in law, land, and ledger. It is the shadow of a spire falling across a tax ledger, the state edict recited as liturgy, and the profound quiet of a populace that has learned to police its own thoughts—the final triumph of the sacred over the merely human.

noun

Political rule or sweeping social control exercised by a class of priests; a ruling class of priests.“"They demolished," he says,"by the Word of God, the priestdom of the Pope and his lofty elevation."”
Priests collectively or priests of a particular religious group or affiliation collectively.“The Social Democracy will not recede; it will pursue it course and accomplish its design, even though all priestdom should rise against it, like a cloud of locusts thick enough to darken the sun.”