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.
   • 1995, Julius Evola, “Regality”, in Guido Stucco, transl., Revolt against the Modern World‎^[1], Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions International, translation of Rivolta contro il mondo moderno, →ISBN, page 7:

     Every traditional civilization is characterized by the presence of beings who […] embody within the temporal order the living and efficacious presence of a power that comes from above. One of these types of beings is the pontifex, according to the inner meaning of the word and according to the original value of the function that he exercised.

Latin

Etymology

Often interpreted as a compound originally meaning “bridge-maker”, from Proto-Italic *pontifaks, equivalent to pōns m (“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 Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈpɔn.tɪ.fɛks]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈpɔn̪.t̪i.feks]

Noun

pontifex m (genitive pontificis); third declension

1. an ancient Roman high priest, state minister, pontiff

   Synonym: antistes m or f

   • 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.)

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

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	pontifex	pontificēs
genitive	pontificis	pontificum
dative	pontificī	pontificibus
accusative	pontificem	pontificēs
ablative	pontifice	pontificibus
vocative	pontifex	pontificēs

Derived terms

• pontifex maximus
• pontificālis
• pontificātus
• pontificium
• pontificius
• pontificō

Descendants

• →? Catalan: pontífex
• →? Italian: pontefice
• → Middle French: pontife m (learned)
  • French: pontife m
    • →? Romanian: pontif m
  • → English: pontiff
• → Portuguese: pontífice (learned)
• → 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 (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[2], 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): [ˈpɔntifeks]

Noun

pontifex m pers (relational adjective pontifikálny)

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
(pattern chlap)

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

Further reading

• “pontifex”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025