Dictionary.com
definitions

papable

[pey-puh-buh l]
adjective
  1. suitable or likely to become pope.

Origin of papable

1585–95; < Middle French < Italian papabile, equivalent to papa pope + -bile -ble
Related formspa·pa·bil·i·ty, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for papable

Contemporary Examples of papable

  • It's a sweltering hot day in London today, a real British heat wave with no a/c, and the Jubilee enthusiasm is papable.

    The Daily Beast logo
    London Heating Up

    Tom Sykes

    May 29, 2012

Historical Examples of papable

  • The threat was too papable to be mistaken, nor was he sufficiently conversant with the world of policy to detect its fallacy.

    Roland Cashel

    Charles James Lever

  • These wants, papable as they are in times of peace, become doubly pressing in time of war.