pontifex

== English == === Etymology === Learned borrowing from Latin pontifex. Doublet of pontiff. === Pronunciation === (General American) IPA(key): /ˈpɒn.təˌfɛks/, /ˈpɒn.tɪˌfɛks/ Hyphenation: pon‧ti‧fex === Noun === pontifex (plural pontifices) (historical) A pontiff, state minister, or high priest, in Ancient Rome. === Further reading === “pontifex”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. == Latin == === Etymology === Often interpreted as a compound originally meaning “bridge-maker”, from Proto-Italic *pontifaks, equivalent to pōns, pontis m (“bridge”) +‎ -fex, -ficis m (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): [ˈpɔn.ti.feks] Hyphenation: pon‧ti‧fex === Noun === pontifex m (genitive pontificis); third declension an ancient Roman high priest, state minister, pontiff Synonym: antistes m or f a pontiff or bishop of the early Christian church, now specifically the Pope ==== Declension ==== Third-declension noun. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== === References === “pontĭfex”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press pontifex in Georges, Karl Ernst; Georges, Heinrich (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th edition, volume 2, Hahnsche Buchhandlung, column 1777 R. E. Latham, D. R. Howlett, & R. K. Ashdowne, editors (1975–2013), “pontifex”, in Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources‎[2], London: Oxford University Press for the British Academy, →ISBN, →OCLC “pontifex”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1200. Harm Pinkster, editor (2018), “ponti-fex”, in Woordenboek Latijn/Nederlands‎[3], 7th revised edition, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, →ISBN, →OCLC Latino-Sinicum [translated as: 大司敎／大司教; 牧 (mù); Summus pontifex translated as: 敎皇／教皇], in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011 "PONTIFEX", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887) “pontifex”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers “PO´NTIFEX”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin “Pontĭfex”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers === Further reading === pontifex in Ramminger, Johann (9 June 2026 (last accessed)), Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎[4], pre-publication website, 2005-2016 De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “la:pōns, -[on]tis”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 479–480 == Polish == === Alternative forms === pontifeks === Etymology === Learned borrowing from Latin pontifex (maximus). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /pɔnˈti.fɛks/ Rhymes: -ifɛks Syllabification: pon‧ti‧fex === Noun === pontifex m pers (literary) synonym of papież (“pope”) ==== Declension ==== === Further reading === “pontifex”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎[5] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN “pontifex”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎[6] (in Polish) Woliński, Marcin; Saloni, Zygmunt; Wołosz, Robert; Gruszczyński, Włodzimierz; Skowrońska, Danuta; Bronk, Zbigniew (2020), “pontifex”, in Słownik gramatyczny języka polskiego [Grammatical Dictionary of Polish]‎[7], 4. online edition, Warszawa == Slovak == === Etymology === Derived from Latin pontifex. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /pɔntifeks/, [ˈpɔntifeks] Rhymes: -ifeks Hyphenation: pon‧ti‧fex === Noun === pontifex m pers (relational adjective pontifikálny) a high priest in ancient Rome a pontiff or bishop of the early Christian church, now specifically the Pope ==== Declension ==== === 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, 2003–2026