pontiff
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See also: Pontiff
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Middle French pontife, from Latin pontifex. Doublet of pontifex.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
pontiff (plural pontiffs)
- (historical, Ancient Rome) A member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs; a pontifex. [from 17th c.]
- A bishop of the early Church; now specifically, the Pope. [from 16th c.]
- 2007, Edwin Mullins, The Popes of Avignon, Blue Bridge 2008, p. 46:
- In several respects John turned out to be an unexpected figure as supreme pontiff.
- 2007, Edwin Mullins, The Popes of Avignon, Blue Bridge 2008, p. 46:
- (figuratively) Any chief figure or leader of a religion. [from 16th c.]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
pope
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
References[edit]
- pontiff at OneLook Dictionary Search.
- pontiff in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- Douglas Harper (2001–2022), “pontiff”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *pent-
- English terms borrowed from Middle French
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English doublets
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with historical senses
- en:Ancient Rome
- en:Religion