ex cathedra

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ex cathedrā (“from the (teacher's) chair”).

Prepositional phrase

ex cathedra

1. With authority based on one's rank or office.
   • 1826, Julius Hare, Guesses at Truth by Two Brothers:

     The best training for style is speech; not monologues, or lectures ex cathedra, like those of the German professors, of whose uninterrupted didacticity their literature bears too many marks

   • 2026 January 31, Janan Ganesh, “The Hamnet wars”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 20:

     Five-star reviews of it [the film Hamnet] could fill one of those posters on Tube platforms. Some come from critics whose views are treated as ex cathedra.

See also

• appeal to authority
• ex officio

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ex cathedrā.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛksˈka.te.dra/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Adverb

ex cathedra

1. (Roman Catholicism) with the infallible authority of the Pope
2. (figurative) with authority, especially one that accepts no objection

Related terms

• Katheder

Indonesian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin ex cathedrā (“from the (teacher's) chair”).

Adjective

ex cathedra (not comparable)

1. ex cathedra:
   1. (Roman Catholicism) with the infallible authority of the Pope.
   2. (derogatory) with authority, especially one that accepts no objection

Further reading

• “ex cathedra”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin ex cathedrā.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛks kaˈtɛ.dra/
• Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]

Adjective

ex cathedra (not comparable, no derived adverb)

1. (Roman Catholicism, postpositive) ex cathedra (with the infallible authority of the Pope)
2. (derogatory, literary, postpositive) ex cathedra (with authority, especially one that accepts no objection)

   Synonym: autorytatywny

Adverb

ex cathedra (not comparable)

1. (Roman Catholicism, postpositive) ex cathedra (with the infallible authority of the Pope)
2. (derogatory, literary, postpositive) ex cathedra (with authority, especially one that accepts no objection)

   Synonym: autorytatywnie

Further reading

• “ex cathedra I”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[1] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “ex cathedra II”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[2] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “ex cathedra”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[3] (in Polish)