Learn Greek › C1 › παπάς
παπάς
priest (Orthodox Christian) /paˈpas/
nounC1#3729 most common
Also: Father (as a form of address), clergyman
Example sentences
Ο παπάς είναι καλός άνθρωπος.
The priest is a good man.
Πηγαίνω στην εκκλησία να δω τον παπά.
I'm going to church to see the priest.
Ο παπάς της εκκλησίας μας βάφτισε το παιδί μου.
The priest of our church baptized my child.
Χθες μίλησα με τον παπά για ένα πρόβλημα στην οικογένειά μου.
Yesterday I talked with the priest about a problem in my family.
Οι παπάδες του χωριού συγκεντρώθηκαν για να συζητήσουν το μέλλον της ενορίας.
The village priests gathered to discuss the future of the parish.
Παρόλο που δεν είναι θρήσκος, σέβεται τον λόγο του παπά κάθε Κυριακή στη λειτουργία.
Although he isn't religious, he respects the priest's words every Sunday at the liturgy.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ο παπάς | οι παπάδες |
| Genitive | του παπά | των παπάδων |
| Accusative | τον παπά | τους παπάδες |
| Vocative | παπά | παπάδες |
Word family
παπαδιάpriest's wife
παπαδάκιlittle priest (diminutive, sometimes affectionate or mocking)
Πάπαςthe Pope
ιερέαςpriest (formal, official term)
Etymology
Παπάς goes back to Byzantine Greek πάπας, an affectionate word for 'father' built from baby-talk syllables, the same pattern found in many unrelated languages. In Greek it split into two uses: capitalized Πάπας came to mean the Pope of Rome, while lowercase παπάς settled as the everyday word for an Orthodox parish priest, addressed as a spiritual father. Because it comes from a nursery-style repeated sound rather than a single inherited root, linguists are cautious about tracing it to one fixed prehistoric ancestor.
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