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nuncio

[ nuhn-shee-oh, -see-oh, noo n- ]
/ ˈnʌn ʃiˌoʊ, -siˌoʊ, ˈnʊn- /
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noun, plural nun·ci·os.

a diplomatic representative of the pope at a foreign court or capital: equal in status to an ambassador.

RELATED WORDS

pontiff, diplomat, emissary, delegate, representative, minister, ambassador, deputy, envoy, agent, pontifical, see, legate, popery, vicegerent, papacy, vatican, vicar, medium, bearer

Nearby words

  1. nunc,
  2. nunc dimittis,
  3. nunchaku,
  4. nuncheon,
  5. nunciature,
  6. nuncle,
  7. nuncupative,
  8. nuncupative will,
  9. nuneaton,
  10. nunhood
Compare apostolic delegate.

Origin of nuncio

1520–30; < Italian nuncio, nunzio < Latin nūncius, nūntius messenger
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for nuncio

British Dictionary definitions for nuncio

nuncio

/ (ˈnʌnʃɪˌəʊ, -sɪ-) /

noun plural -cios

RC Church a diplomatic representative of the Holy See, ranking above an internuncio and esp having ambassadorial status

Word Origin for nuncio

C16: via Italian from Latin nuntius messenger
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

Word Origin and History for nuncio

nuncio

n.

papal envoy, 1520s, from older Italian nuncio (now nunzio), from Latin nuntius "messenger," from PIE root *neu- "to shout" (cf. Greek neuo "to nod, beckon," Old Irish noid "make known").

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper