papal
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to the pope or the papacy.
a papal visit to Canada.
-
of or relating to the Roman Catholic Church.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of papal
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word pāpālis. See pope, -al 1
Explanation
Anything papal has to do to with the Pope, such as papal orders or papal ceremonies. The Catholic Church is led by the Pope. His office is the papacy, and anything that is ordered by the Pope or involving the Pope can be called papal. The papal robes are ornamental and beautiful. The power of the Pope can be called the papal authority. Someone who represents the Pope is a papal representative. Anything papal can also be referred to as pontifical or apostolic, since the Pope is considered the modern version of Jesus' apostles.
Vocabulary lists containing papal
Vocabulary from the Magna Carta on its 800th Anniversary
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Top 50 Wordle Words of 2024
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"The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer, The Pardoner's Prologue
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Our postmodern pope’s meta-callback to another papal deep-cut.
From Slate • Jun. 5, 2026
Students of American history will recall an earlier incident that pitted papal and presidential authority against each other.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
Aboard the papal plane on Monday, Leo told reporters: "The Gospel says... blessed are the peacemakers."
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
His low-key approach, say some papal observers, has made it harder for him to make himself heard in a wider world that’s being shaken up by populism, strongman leaders and raw power politics.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026
It was his business to stick the leaden seals on papal bulls, and, so as to preserve the Secrecy of the Pope, they used to make sure that he could not read a won!
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
