Vatican

[ vat-i-kuh n ]

/ ˈvæt ɪ kən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR Vatican ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Also called Vatican Palace. the chief residence of the popes in Vatican City, now also including a library, archives, art museum, apartments, and administrative offices.

the authority and government of the pope (distinguished from the Quirinal).

Origin of Vatican

1545–55; < Latin vātīcānus (mōns) Vatican (hill)

Vatican II

noun

Second Vatican Council.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for vatican

Angelina Jolie was able to seemingly glide into the Vatican on Thursday to present her new film ‘Unbroken.’
Pope Francis Has the Pleasure of Meeting Angelina Jolie for a Few Seconds|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Lee and Coogan did briefly meet with the pope, with pictures to prove it, but no one at the Vatican officially screened the film.
Pope Francis Has the Pleasure of Meeting Angelina Jolie for a Few Seconds|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Undeterred by the snub in November, and denied a visa to Italy, Agca made plans for clandestine travel to Vatican City.
Pope-Shooter Ali Agca’s Very Weird Vatican Visit|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He has put flowers on the tomb of John Paul II,” said Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi, “I think that is enough.
Pope-Shooter Ali Agca’s Very Weird Vatican Visit|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

His words apply not only to the Roman Curia at the Vatican but to the entire Church throughout the world.
Pope Francis Denounces the Vatican Elite’s 'Spiritual Alzheimer’s'|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No officer of the Italian government was to enter the Lateran or Vatican palaces upon any official mission.
An Introduction to the History of Western Europe|James Harvey Robinson
We went off about 10 to the Vatican and spent two hours there.
Italian Letters of a Diplomat's Life|Mary Alsop King Waddington
But he got in some smug reminders of the severance of diplomatic relations with the Vatican.
War and the Future|H. G. Wells
It 's on my conscience that I ought to take you to Rome, walk you through the Vatican, and then lock you up with a heap of clay.
Roderick Hudson|Henry James
Alexander VI., his predecessor in the Vatican, had been a depraved man.
Pictures Every Child Should Know|Dolores Bacon

British Dictionary definitions for vatican

Vatican

/ (ˈvætɪkən) /

noun

the palace of the popes in Rome and their principal residence there since 1377, which includes administrative offices, a library, museum, etc, and is attached to the basilica of St Peter's
(as modifier)the Vatican Council

the authority of the Pope and the papal curia
(as modifier)a Vatican edict

Word Origin for Vatican

C16: from Latin Vāticānus mons Vatican hill, on the western bank of the Tiber, of Etruscan origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for vatican

Vatican

1550s, from Latin mons Vaticanus, Roman hill on which Papal palace stands. An Etruscan loan-word, not related to vates "sooth-sayer."

Culture definitions for vatican

Vatican II

The popular name for the Second Vatican Council, an assembly of all the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church held from 1962 to 1965. The bishops ordered a large-scale liberalization and modernization of practices in their church.