pontiff

English

Etymology

From Middle French pontife, from Latin pontifex.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɒntɪf/

Noun

pontiff (plural pontiffs)

1. 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.

2. (figuratively) Any chief figure or leader of a religion. [from 16th c.]
3. (historical) A pontifex. [from 17th c.]

Related terms

• pontificate

Translations

pope

• Catalan: pontífex m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 教皇 (zh) (jiàohuáng), 教宗 (zh) (jiàozōng)

• Dutch: paus (nl) m, hogepriester (nl)
• Esperanto: ĉefpastro
• Finnish: pontiff (fi)
• French: pontife (fr) m
• German: Pontifex (de) m

• Italian: pontefice (it)
• Japanese: 教皇 (きょうおう, kyōō)
• Portuguese: pontífice (pt)
• Romanian: pontif (ro)
• Russian: понти́фик (ru) m (pontífik)
• Slovak: pontifex m
• Spanish: papa (es) m, pontífice (es) m
• Tagalog: pontipise

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.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} ĉefpastro

References

• pontiff at OneLook Dictionary Search
• pontiff in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• “pontiff” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2018.