pontifex

[pon-tuh-feks]

noun

Roman Religion.

plural

pontifices 

1. a member of the Pontifical College, which was presided over by a chief priest Pontifex Maximus.

pontifex

/ ˈpɒntɪˌfɛks /

noun

1. (in ancient Rome) any of the senior members of the Pontifical College, presided over by the Pontifex Maximus

Word History and Origins

Origin of pontifex¹

1570–80; < Latin: apparently literally, path-maker, equivalent to ponti- (stem of pōns ) bridge, probably originally, path ( pons ) + -fec- (combining form of facere to make) + -s nominative singular ending; the literal application is unclear

Word History and Origins

Origin of pontifex¹

C16: from Latin, perhaps from Etruscan but influenced by folk etymology as if meaning literally: bridge-maker, from pons bridge + -fex from facere to make

Example Sentences

The new pontifex maximus has much work ahead of him to wrangle the faithful into unity.

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"Looking forward to the visit of @pontifex," Orban said on Twitter on Thursday evening.

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The world's richest person tweeted a picture where he can be seen standing next to the pope, captioning it: "Honored to meet @pontifex yesterday."

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In an accompanying @pontifex Twitter post, Francis said he was "beginning a new journey" on the service in order "to walk with you along the path of mercy and the tenderness of God."

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He was the first pope to take his message regularly to Twitter, and the @pontifex account, first opened by Pope Benedict, now has 8.4 million followers.

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Related Words

• pope