pontifex
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Latin pontifex. Doublet of pontiff.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈpɒn.təˌfɛks/, /ˈpɒn.tɪˌfɛks/
- Hyphenation: pon‧ti‧fex
Noun[edit]
pontifex (plural pontifices)
- (historical) A pontiff, or high priest, in Ancient Rome.
Latin[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Often interpreted as a compound originally meaning “bridge-maker”, from Proto-Italic *pontifaks, equivalent to pōns (“bridge”) + -fex (“suffix representing a maker or producer”), either metaphorically “one who negotiates between gods and men” or literally if at some point the social class which supplied the priests was more or less identical with engineers that were responsible for building bridges. Compare Sanskrit पथिकृत् (pathikṛ́t, “path-maker”), attested as an epithet of rishis in the Rig Veda.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈpon.ti.feks/, [ˈpɔn̪t̪ɪfɛks̠]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈpon.ti.feks/, [ˈpɔn̪t̪ifeks]
Noun[edit]
pontifex m (genitive pontificis); third declension
- an ancient Roman high priest, state minister, pontiff
- Synonym: antistes
- a pontiff or bishop of the early Christian church, now specifically the Pope
Declension[edit]
Third-declension noun.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | pontifex | pontificēs |
Genitive | pontificis | pontificum |
Dative | pontificī | pontificibus |
Accusative | pontificem | pontificēs |
Ablative | pontifice | pontificibus |
Vocative | pontifex | pontificēs |
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]
- “pontifex”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “pontifex”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- pontifex in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- pontifex in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
- “pontifex”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
- pontifex in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016
- “pontifex”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
- De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 480
Slovak[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
pontifex m anim (genitive singular pontifika, nominative plural pontifikovia, genitive plural pontifikov, declension pattern of chlap)
- a high priest in ancient Rome
- a pontiff or bishop of the early Christian church, now specifically the Pope
Declension[edit]
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | pontifex | pontifikovia |
genitive | pontifika | pontifikov |
dative | pontifikovi | pontifikom |
accusative | pontifika | pontifikov |
locative | pontifikovi | pontifikoch |
instrumental | pontifikom | pontifikmi |
Further reading[edit]
- pontifex in Slovak dictionaries at slovnik.juls.savba.sk
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *pent-
- English terms borrowed from Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English doublets
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- English terms with historical senses
- Latin terms inherited from Proto-Italic
- Latin terms derived from Proto-Italic
- Latin terms suffixed with -fex
- Latin 3-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin terms with Ecclesiastical IPA pronunciation
- Latin lemmas
- Latin nouns
- Latin third declension nouns
- Latin masculine nouns in the third declension
- Latin masculine nouns
- Latin terms with quotations
- la:Male people
- Slovak terms derived from Latin
- Slovak 3-syllable words
- Slovak terms with IPA pronunciation
- Slovak lemmas
- Slovak nouns
- Slovak terms spelled with X
- Slovak masculine nouns
- Slovak animate nouns
- sk:Greek mythology