nuncio

[nuhn-shee-oh, -see-oh, noo n-]

See more synonyms for nuncio on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural nun·ci·os.

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

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. 2018

Related Words for nuncio

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

Examples from the Web for nuncio

Historical Examples of nuncio

The King was in a fury, and forebade the Nuncio to pass Lyons.
The Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz, Complete
Jean Francois Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz
There is some intention, I understand, of naming me as the Nuncio at Florence.
Davenport Dunn, Volume 1 (of 2)
Charles James Lever
In this conclusion, however, the nuncio was but partially correct.
The Rise of the Hugenots, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Henry Martyn Baird
No one, except the friends of the nuncio, was pleased with the sermon.
History of the Great Reformation, Volume IV
J. H. Merle D'Aubign
The Nuncio was sometimes represented by his auditor, the Patriarch by his vicar.
Giordano Bruno
James Lewis McIntyre

British Dictionary definitions for nuncio

nuncio

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

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").