pontifical

[ pon-tif-i-kuhl ]
See synonyms for: pontificalpontificals on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. relating to or proceeding from a pope or from the office of the pope; papal: This document gathers together and sums up all the pontifical teachings on Saint Thomas Aquinas.The pontifical court of Innocent IV was maintained at Lyons rather than Rome.

  2. (of an academic institution) established or certified by the office of the pope and covering disciplines directly related to Christian belief, such as theology, philosophy, and canon law: The outspoken Dominican nun teaches theology at a pontifical university in Rome.

  1. pompous, dogmatic, or pretentious: His coworkers resented his lofty and pontifical manner, which they found arrogant.

noun
  1. Also Pontifical . (in the Western Church) a book containing the forms for the sacraments and other rites and ceremonies to be performed by bishops: She has recently published her thesis about an illuminated Pontifical made in 1350 for the archbishop of Narbonne.

  2. pontificals, the vestments and other insignia of a pontiff, especially a bishop.

Origin of pontifical

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin pontificālis, from pontific-, stem of pontifex pontifex + -ālis -al1
  • Rarely pon·ti·fi·cial [pon-ti-fish-uhl] /ˌpɒn tɪˈfɪʃ əl/ .

Other words from pontifical

  • pon·tif·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • un·pon·tif·i·cal, adjective
  • un·pon·tif·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby pontifical

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pontifical in a sentence

  • They built others in other cities; but still they had a horror of tapers, lustral water, pontifical habits, etc.

    A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10) | Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
  • Meanwhile, the cardinal had passed behind the altar to put on his pontifical robes; soon he reappeared with the holy vial.

    Chicot the Jester | Alexandre Dumas, Pere
  • First, there is the "atheist formula" of 'art for the sake of art';—a heresy he scourged with pontifical anathemas.

    The Life of Mazzini | Bolton King
  • The highest religious officer of the state, the pontifex maximus, was from this time on elected by the pontifical College.

  • Mr. Wilmot waved a pontifical good-bye and vanished in the direction of Kensington.

    Sinister Street, vol. 1 | Compton Mackenzie

British Dictionary definitions for pontifical

pontifical

/ (pɒnˈtɪfɪkəl) /


adjective
  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a pontiff, the pope, or a bishop

  2. having an excessively authoritative manner; pompous

noun
  1. RC Church Church of England a book containing the prayers and ritual instructions for ceremonies restricted to a bishop

Derived forms of pontifical

  • pontifically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012