Sailor marries Elizabeth - a superior lady (6)
I believe the answer is:
abbess
'a superior lady' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'sailor marries elizabeth' is the wordplay.
'sailor' becomes 'ab' (abbreviation for able seaman).
'marries' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'elizabeth' becomes 'Bess' (nickname).
'ab'+'bess'='ABBESS'
(Other definitions for abbess that I've seen before include "Principal of convent" , "Superior of group of nuns" , "Head of convent" , "She heads a religious community" , "Religious leader" .)