pontiff

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French pontife, from Latin pontifex.

Pronunciation

• 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
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} ĉefpastro
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

References

• “pontiff”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “pontiff”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “pontiff”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.