pontifex

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin pontifex. Doublet of pontiff.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɒn.təˌfɛks/, /ˈpɒn.tɪˌfɛks/
• Hyphenation: pon‧ti‧fex

Noun

pontifex (plural pontifices)

1. (historical) A pontiff, or high priest, in Ancient Rome.

Latin

Etymology

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

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈpon.ti.feks/, [ˈpɔn̪t̪ɪfɛks̠]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpon.ti.feks/, [ˈpɔn̪t̪ifeks]

Noun

pontifex m (genitive pontificis); third declension

1. an ancient Roman high priest, state minister, pontiff
   • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 6.105-106:

     adiacet antīquus Tiberīnō lūcūs Helernī:
     pontificēs illūc nunc quoque sacra ferunt.

     The ancient grove of Helernus is near by the Tiber [River]:
     Even now the high priests bring sacrifices to there.
     (See: Helernus; “Tiberinus” is an alternative name for the Tiber River.)

   Synonym: antistes

2. a pontiff or bishop of the early Christian church, now specifically the Pope

Declension

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

• pontificālis
• pontificātus
• pontificium
• pontificius

Descendants

• Catalan: pontífex
• English: pontiff
• French: pontife
• Italian: pontefice
• Portuguese: pontífice
• Romanian: pontifice
• Russian: понти́фик m (pontífik)
• Spanish: pontífice

References

• “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

Etymology

Derived from Latin pontifex.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpo̞ntife̞ks/

Noun

pontifex m anim (genitive singular pontifika, nominative plural pontifikovia, genitive plural pontifikov, declension pattern of chlap)

1. a high priest in ancient Rome
2. a pontiff or bishop of the early Christian church, now specifically the Pope

Declension

Declension of pontifex

	singular	plural
nominative	pontifex	pontifikovia
genitive	pontifika	pontifikov
dative	pontifikovi	pontifikom
accusative	pontifika	pontifikov
locative	pontifikovi	pontifikoch
instrumental	pontifikom	pontifikmi

Further reading

• pontifex in Slovak dictionaries at slovnik.juls.savba.sk