pontifical

[ pon-tif-i-kuhl ]

adjective

1. relating to or proceeding from a pope or from the office of the pope; papal:

   This document gathers together and sums up all the pontifical teachings on Saint Thomas Aquinas.

   The pontifical court of Innocent IV was maintained at Lyons rather than Rome.

2. (of an academic institution) established or certified by the office of the pope and covering disciplines directly related to Christian belief, such as theology, philosophy, and canon law:

   The outspoken Dominican nun teaches theology at a pontifical university in Rome.

3. relating to, characteristic of, or conducted by a high-ranking prelate, especially a bishop.
4. pompous, dogmatic, or pretentious:

   His coworkers resented his lofty and pontifical manner, which they found arrogant.

noun

1. Pontifical. (in the Western Church) a book containing the forms for the sacraments and other rites and ceremonies to be performed by bishops:

   She has recently published her thesis about an illuminated Pontifical made in 1350 for the archbishop of Narbonne.

2. pontificals, the vestments and other insignia of a high-ranking prelate, especially a bishop.

pontifical

/ pɒnˈtɪfɪkəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a pontiff, the pope, or a bishop
2. having an excessively authoritative manner; pompous

noun

1. RC Church Church of England a book containing the prayers and ritual instructions for ceremonies restricted to a bishop

Derived Forms

• ponˈtifically, adverb

Other Words From

• pon·tif·i·cal·ly adverb
• un·pon·tif·i·cal adjective
• un·pon·tif·i·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of pontifical¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin pontificālis, from pontific-, stem of pontifex pontifex + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

German Hans Zollner leads the Centre for Child Protection at the Institute of Psychology of the Pontifical Gregorian University.

From The Daily Beast

Bishop Sánchez is the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

From The Daily Beast

Kicking off the weeklong celebrations, the pope seemed to welcome the security challenge as part and parcel of pontifical work.

From The Daily Beast

As a young seminarian, he studied in Washington, D.C., and at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

From The Daily Beast

After the cardinal audience and a celebratory lunch, the pope will prepare to leave the pontifical apartments.

From The Daily Beast

They built others in other cities; but still they had a horror of tapers, lustral water, pontifical habits, etc.

From Project Gutenberg

Meanwhile, the cardinal had passed behind the altar to put on his pontifical robes; soon he reappeared with the holy vial.

From Project Gutenberg

First, there is the "atheist formula" of 'art for the sake of art';—a heresy he scourged with pontifical anathemas.

From Project Gutenberg

The highest religious officer of the state, the pontifex maximus, was from this time on elected by the Pontifical College.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. Wilmot waved a pontifical good-bye and vanished in the direction of Kensington.

From Project Gutenberg