cathedra
Americannoun
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the seat or throne of a bishop in the principal church of a diocese.
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an official chair, as of a professor in a university.
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an ancient Roman chair used by women, having an inclined, curved back and curved legs flaring outward: the Roman copy of the Greek klismos.
noun
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a bishop's throne
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the office or rank of a bishop
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See ex cathedra
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cathedra
1625–35; < Latin < Greek kathédra, derivative of kathézomai to sit down; see cata-, sit 1; cf. chair
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.
Popes wield such power that they can speak ex cathedra — literally, from the papal throne — to make infallible pronouncements on morality that the faithful must obey.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2025
The last time a pope issued an ex cathedra decree was in 1950, when Pius XII made the assumption of Mary into heaven an article of faith.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 4, 2021
It is a conviction descended, ex cathedra, from Robert Penn Warren, in his spare masterpiece, “Tell Me a Story.”
From The New Yorker ● May 20, 2019
Which Catholics believe in the primacy of the Pope's teachings, when he is not speaking ex cathedra?
From New York Times ● Apr. 9, 2018
I do not pretend to speak ex cathedra, nor do I claim for my judgments any other value than that given to them by such inherent reasonableness and fairness as they may seem to have.
From Campaigning in Cuba by Kennan, George
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.
