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Definition of pontiff - 4 dictionary results

pon⋅tiff

  [pon-tif]
Use pontiff in a Sentence
–noun
1. any pontifex.
2. any high or chief priest.
3. Ecclesiastical.
a. a bishop.
b. the Roman Catholic pope, the Bishop of Rome.
Origin:
1600–10; earlier pontife < F, short for L pontifex pontifex
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pontiff
pon·tiff   (pŏn'tĭf)   
n.  

    1. The pope.

    2. A bishop.

  2. A pontifex.


[French pontife, from Old French pontif, from Latin pontifex, pontifex; see pent- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

pontiff

Another name for the pope. Pontiff comes from a Latin word, meaning “bridge builder,” that was used as a title for some of the priests of ancient Rome.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

pontiff 
1610, "high priest," from Fr. pontif (1516), from L. pontifex, title of a Roman high priest (see pontifex). Used for "bishop" in Church Latin, but not recorded in that sense in Eng. until 1677, specifically "the bishop of Rome," the pope. Pontifical, however, is used with this sense from c.1440. Pontificate (v.) "issue dogmatic decrees" is first attested 1825.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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