papacy
Americannoun
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the office, dignity, or jurisdiction of the pope.
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the system of ecclesiastical government in which the pope is recognized as the supreme head.
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the period during which a certain pope is in office.
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the succession or line of the popes.
noun
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the office or term of office of a pope
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the system of government in the Roman Catholic Church that has the pope as its head
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of papacy
1350–1400; Middle English papacie < Medieval Latin pāpātia. See pope, -acy
Explanation
Use the noun papacy when you're talking about the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and the particular authority he holds. The papacy supports reducing poverty, but it does not support women becoming priests. The pope is the head of the Catholic Church in Rome, and his office or government is the papacy. You can use the word for official positions the church holds, or to talk about the history of a pope's term. For example, you might say, "The papacy of Pope Benedict XVI ended when he resigned." The root of papacy is the Latin papatia, "papal office," which comes from papa, or "pope."
Vocabulary lists containing papacy
Would E-cigarettes Lose the Smoker's Stigma if Called by Another Name? A Quick Current Events Vocab Quiz
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for April 20–April 26, 2025
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Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea
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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.
Leo has made the hot-button issue a cornerstone of his papacy in dedicating to it his first encyclical -- a document which lays the basis for Church teaching and longer-term debate.
From Barron's • May 25, 2026
Guest: Christopher Hale, author of the “Letters from Leo” Substack, “a chronicle of how Pope Leo XIV’s papacy intersects with American politics, faith, and the digital age during the presidency of Donald Trump.”
From Slate • Apr. 16, 2026
The 11-day trip, which starts on Monday, is Pope Leo's second major foreign visit since being elected to the papacy in May last year, and is a reflection of Africa's increasing importance to Catholicism.
From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026
This was a time tensions between the French monarchy and the papacy that lead to a seven-decade-long relocation of the papacy from Rome to the French-controlled Avignon.
From Salon • Apr. 9, 2026
At first the papacy was blind to the danger.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
