papacy
[pey-puh-see]
- the office, dignity, or jurisdiction of the pope.
- the system of ecclesiastical government in which the pope is recognized as the supreme head.
- the period during which a certain pope is in office.
- the succession or line of the popes.
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Origin of papacy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for papacy
Contemporary Examples
At the end of this one, Francis gave what many said was the best speech of his papacy.
The Invention of Peter is not the first book to question the role of Peter and the foundations of the Papacy.
Each edition of the magazine will include a new chapters to be torn out and collected to form a book of the Pope Francis papacy.
But, then again, the changes in store under this papacy have only just begun.
Recently released transcripts from that private meeting shed light on the power of the papacy.
Historical Examples
He was waiting to obtain the papacy, when he would deal better with the abuses.
The Armourer's PrenticesCharlotte M. Yonge
It represented the triumph of the Papacy over the infidel of all dates.
A Writer's Recollections (In Two Volumes), Volume IMrs. Humphry Ward
He was also reconciled with the papacy and the House of Austria.
Memoirs of Marguerite de Valois, CompleteMarguerite de Valois, Queen of Navarre
Belonged to the English Wolsey, didn't it, in the days when he wanted the Papacy?
The Eternal CityHall Caine
In temporal affairs, the theory of the Papacy rejects the theory of the democracy.
The Eternal CityHall Caine
papacy
- the office or term of office of a pope
- the system of government in the Roman Catholic Church that has the pope as its head
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Word Origin
C14: from Medieval Latin pāpātia, from pāpa pope 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for papacy
n.
late 14c., from Medieval Latin papatia "papal office," from Late Latin papa "pope" (see pope). Old English had papdom in this sense.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
papacy
The office or position of the pope.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.