pontificate
[noun pon-tif-i-kit, -keyt; verb pon-tif-i-keyt]
- the office or term of office of a pontiff.
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- to perform the office or duties of a pontiff.
- to speak in a pompous or dogmatic manner: Did he pontificate about the responsibilities of a good citizen?
- to serve as a bishop, especially in a Pontifical Mass.
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Origin of pontificate
1575–85; (noun) < Latin pontificātus; see pontifical, -ate3; (v.) < Medieval Latin pontificātus past participle of pontificāre to be an ecclesiastic; see -ate1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
pontificate
- to speak or behave in a pompous or dogmatic mannerAlso (less commonly): pontify (ˈpɒntɪˌfaɪ)
- to serve or officiate as a pontiff, esp in celebrating a Pontifical Mass
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- the office or term of office of a pontiff, now usually the pope
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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 pontificator
pontificate
v.
1818, "to act as a pontiff," from Medieval Latin pontificatus, past participle of pontificare "to be a pontifex," from Latin pontifex (see pontiff). Meaning "to assume pompous and dignified airs, issue dogmatic decrees" is from 1825. Meaning "to say (something) in a pontifical way" is from 1922. Related: Pontificated; pontificating.
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pontificate
n.
1580s, from Latin pontificatus "office of a pontiff," from pontifex (see pontifex).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper