pope en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /pəʊp/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- pōp
- /pop/ (Scotland)
- /poʊp/ (US)
- /poːp/ (Wales) without the toe–tow merger
- /pɐʉp/ (New-Zealand)
- /pəʉp/ (Australia)
Etymology
From Middle English pope, popa, from Old English pāpa, from Vulgar Latin papa (title for priests and bishops, esp. and by 8th c. only the bishop of Rome), from early Byzantine Greek παπᾶς (papâs, title for priests and bishops, especially by 3rd c. the bishop of Alexandria), from late Ancient Greek πάπας (pápas, title for priests and bishops, in the sense of spiritual father), from πάππας (páppas, “papa, daddy”).
Meanings
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(qualifier:Roman Catholicism and generally) An honorary title of the Roman Catholic bishop of Rome as father and head of his church, a sovereign of the Vatican city state.
Þa wæs in þa tid Uitalius papa þæs apostolican seðles aldorbiscop.
ante''' 950, translating Bede's Ecclesiastical History (Tanner), iv. i. 252A priority for the new pope will be to strengthen the church’s unity amid differing views and expectations within the institution and growing polarisation in the wider world. Some observers believe there is a real risk of schism after 20 years in which there have been popes on either end of the spectrum: the traditional/conservative Benedict XVI, and the liberal/progressive Francis.
2025 May 8, Angela Giuffrida and Harriet Sherwood, “White smoke from Sistine Chapel chimney signals election of new pope”, in The Guardian:The Pope is not going to issue a bull condemning the Spanish Church's support of France and destroy the Church's right to exist in Spain.
1959 August 19, Flannery O'Connor, letter in Habit of Being (1980), 3472007 May 5, Ted Koppel (guest), Wait, Wait... Don’t tell me!, National Public Radio I really did want to interview the pope. Any pope. I'm not particular.
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(broadly, ironic, often, qualifier:Roman Catholicism and generally) An honorary title of the Roman Catholic bishop of Rome as father and head of his church, a sovereign of the Vatican city state. ▸ Any similarly absolute and 'infallible' authority.
Both [discoveries] were rejected offhand by the popes of the field.
1972 June 2, Science, 966/2Above all, the SED reformers cite the progress inherent in the emancipation of Westem Communist parties from the "red popes in the Kremlin."
1978, Atlas World Press Review, volume 25, page 19:Burne-Jones... accepted him [Dante Gabriel Rossetti] as the infallible Pope of Art.
1893 January 19, Nation (N.Y.), 46/3We often say, that every man has a pope in his belly.
1689, G. Bulkeley, “People's Right to Election”, in Andros Tracts, published 1869, II. 106:
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(broadly, qualifier:Roman Catholicism and generally) An honorary title of the Roman Catholic bishop of Rome as father and head of his church, a sovereign of the Vatican city state. ▸ Any similar head of a religion.
In þat yle dwelleth the Pope of hire lawe, þat þei clepen lobassy.
c. 1400, John Mandeville, Travels (Titus C.xvi, 1919), 205Mufti, the Mahometan pope or chief of the religion.
1787, Vincent Mignot, translated by A. Hawkins, The history of the Turkish, or Ottoman Empire, section IV:Although Islam has no formal hierarchy of clergy, Tantawy [Egypt's grand imam] often is called the Muslim pope.
2005 April 6, Kansas City Star, b7
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(qualifier:Roman Catholicism and generally, uncommon) An honorary title of the Roman Catholic bishop of Rome as father and head of his church, a sovereign of the Vatican city state. ▸ A theocrat, a priest-king, including (at first especially) over the imaginary land of Prester John or (now) in figurative and alliterative uses.
Eche day there etyn in his court xii erchebeshopis and xx bishopis, and the patriak of Seynt Thomays is as here pope.
ante''' 1500, John Mandeville, Travels (Rawl., 1953), 103Ramone, known as ‘the Pope of Pop’ is one of the top record producer-engineers in the world.
1993 December, Vanity Fair (N.Y.), 62/1
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(UK, qualifier:Roman Catholicism and generally) An honorary title of the Roman Catholic bishop of Rome as father and head of his church, a sovereign of the Vatican city state. ▸ An effigy of the pope traditionally burnt in Britain on Guy Fawkes' Day and (occasionally) at other times.
This is the only piece in which the author has given a hint of his religion, by ridiculing the ceremony of burning the pope, and by mentioning with some indignation the inscription […]
1830, Alexander Pope, The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, page xxi:As York's succession was challenged by burning the pope, the Duke of Monmouth was again heralded in the city as a Protestant alternative.
2005, Gary S. De Krey, London and the Restoration, 1659–1683, →ISBN, page 182:
- (US, obsolete, qualifier:Roman Catholicism and generally) An honorary title of the Roman Catholic bishop of Rome as father and head of his church, a sovereign of the Vatican city state. ▸ Pope Day, the present Guy Fawkes Day.
- (qualifier:Coptic Orthodoxy) An honorary title of the Coptic bishop of Alexandria as father and head of his church.
- (qualifier:Eastern Orthodoxy) An honorary title of the Orthodox bishop of Alexandria as father and head of his autocephalous church.
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(historical, obsolete) Any bishop of the early Christian church.
All Bishops in that time had the Stile of Pope given them, as now we call every one of them, My Lord.
1703, U. Chevreau, Hist. World, III. v. 379:1563, 2nd Tome Homelyes, sig. Hh.i All notable Bishops were then called popes.
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(UK) The ruffe, a small Eurasian freshwater fish (Gymnocephalus cernua); others of its genus.
It resembles the perch (unfortunately for itself) in having a very long and prickly fin on its back, advantage of which is taken by the boys about Windsor, who are very fond of 'plugging a pope.' This operation consists in fixing a bung in the sharp spines on the poor pope's back fin, and then throwing him into the water.
1862, Francis T. Buckland, Curiosities of Natural History, page 230:Popes are caught whilst gudgeon-fishing with the red worm, but they are sometimes a great nuisance to the perch-fisher, as they take the minnow.
1865 January 14, Astley H. Baldwin, “Small Fry”, in Once a Week, page 105:Byfleet-river, wherein are very large pikes, jack, and tench ; perch, of eighteen inches long ; good carp, large flounders, bream, roach, dace, gudgeons, popes, large chub, and eels.
1792, William Augustus Osbaldiston, The British Sportsman, Or, Nobleman, Gentleman and Farmer's Dictionary of Recreation and Amusement, page 176:
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(Cornwall, Devon, Scotland, UK, qualifier:Cumberland, regional) The Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica).
The Pope: This is a very singular bird; it is about the size of our widgeon, or somewhat larger, but is not quite so large as the duck: the head is large and rounded; the eyes are small, and stand forward on the head, and lower down than in the generality of birds [...]
1773, John Hill, “Alca”, in A General Natural History, volume 3, page 442:Alca genus; 6 species, including the razorbill, the penguin, the pope, and others.
1759, “Linnæus's Systema Naturæ”, in The Gentleman's Magazine, page 456:I was informed by a fisherman that there were now hundreds of gannets in the channel off Plymouth, and that he had also met with some puffins (which he called "popes")
1874, J. Van Voorst, Zoologist: A Monthly Journal of Natural History, page 3904:"About a hundred yards further North" says Troutbeck, "is a 'subterraneous' cavern called the Pope's Hole, about fifty fathoms under the ground, into which the sea flows, so called from a sort of bird which roosts in it by night, about ninety feet high above the level of the water."!! [...] It derives its name from its being a place of shelter to some puffins, vulgo "popes".
1822, George Woodley, A view of the present state of the Scilly Islands, pages 264–5:The Norsemen catch great numbers of these popes, parrots, or lunder, as they are variously named, and train dogs to go into the holes where the puffin has its nest, lying in it with feet in the air.
1864, Charles Elton, Norway: The Road and the Fell, page 94:
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(US, regional) The painted bunting (Passerina ciris).
The birds [of Louisiana] are the partridge, cardinal and pope, and a species of mocking bird, called the nightingale.
1806, Berquin-Duvallon, Travels in Louisiana and the Floridas, in the Year, 1802: Giving a Correct Picture of Those Countries, page 122:[...] some others, such as the crow, the heron, and the wild goose, which are found in Europe, I also observed ; but the most beautiful are the pope bird, whose head seems bound with the most bright azure blue, and the cardinal, being entirely of dazzling scarlet [...]
1821, Édouard de Montulé, A Voyage to North America, and the West Indies in 1817, page 54:The Pope is of a bright blue round the head; on the throat it is of a fine red, and on the back of a gold green colour, it sings very finely and is the size of a canary bird.
1771, M. Bossu, Travels Through that Part of North America Formerly Called Louisiana, volume 1, page 371:
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(rare) The red-cowled cardinal (Paroaria dominicana).
From the sketch of the bird which you have sent us, there is no doubt about its being the Pope Grosbeak, which is a species of the Cardinal, but not the crested one.
1864 August 6, The Journal of Horticulture, Cottage Gardener, and Country Gentleman, page 100:Besides the Bicheno's Finches in this Class, the judge disqualified, in other Classes, a pair of Magpie Mannikins and a pair of Popes. These entries were presumably all disqualified on the ground that they were not true pairs: they are all birds in which the outward differences between the sexes (if there be any outward difference at all) are of an extremely slight and uncertain nature.
1898, The Avicultural Magazine, volume 4, page 87:The Pope is a native of Brazil, and the female (it is altogether incongrouous to think of a lady pontiff) exactly resembles her mate.
1883, William Thomas Greene, The amateur's aviary of foreign birds: or, How to keep and breed foreign birds, page 96:SIR,—I should be glad to learn how to treat Pope birds (Crestless Cardinals) when nesting.
1895, A. A. Thom, “Dominican cardinals”, in The Avicultural Magazine, page 128:The wisest plan is always to keep the Pope Cardinal in an aviary, and to have only one pair to each aviary.
1956, Foreign birds for cage and aviary, volume 4, page 20:
- Garlic, when used in addition to the Holy Trinity of celery, bell peppers and onions.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| popes | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| Pope | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
unpope · popehood · popely · Pope Night · pope-burning · popery · popehead · Popemobile · popelike · popish · pope-fly · pope-bulled · pope hat · pope Joan · popemobile · Pope's-hat · pope-powdered · black pope · protopope · is the Pope Catholic? · pope-holy · Pope's Knight · popeling · popeable · White Pope · popist · Wope · Pope catholic · Pope of Fools · Red Pope · popedom · pope's eye · pope-prompted · dispope · antipope · pope worshipper · Pope Day · pope-consecrated · pope-horn · Pope-king · pope's nose · pope-given · popism · does the Pope shit in the woods? · pope pleasing · Black Pope · pope's-milk · pope-conjurer · Pope-trumpery · Pope John · pope-rid · pope's living room · do not sit in Rome and strive with the Pope · popeless · popeship
Descendants
ၸဝ်ႈမုၼ်ပူပ်ႉ · पोप · پوپ · puop · မုၼ်ၸဝ်ႈပူပ်ႉ · pop
Hypernyms
cleric · cleric · cleric · cleric · cleric · cleric
Relateds
papacy (office) · papal · antipope (rival) · popess · papess · papist (supporter)
Synonyms
Vicar of Christ · Patriarch of Rome · Bishop of Alexandria · Guy Fawkes Day (Pope Day) · their respective entries (bishop, animals) · Patriarch of Alexandria · Bishop of Rome · Orthodox Bishop of Alexandria (Orthodox)
Translations (149)
fi paavi (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · vi giáo hoàng (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ka რომის პაპი (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ur پوپ (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · sl papež (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · yue 教皇 (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · cmn 教宗 (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · pt papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · it pontefice (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · el πάπας (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · kk папа (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ang pāpa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · hsb bamž (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ro pëpa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ja 法王 (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · es vicediós (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ru па́па (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · fo pávi (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ln papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · srn pawsu (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · fr papesse (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · my ပုပ်ရဟန်းမင်းကြီး (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · pt papisa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · gd pàp (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · st mopapa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · lt popiežius (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · rom pëpa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · lv pāvests (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ja ローマ教皇 (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · gu પોપ (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · tl Santo Papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · bg па́па Ри́мски (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · tg папа (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · hi पोप (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · tg поп (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · rsk папа (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · mk папа (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · is páfi (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · hy պապ (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · shn ၸဝ်ႈမုၼ်ပူပ်ႉ (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · af pous (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · sh па̑па (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ext papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ja 教皇 (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · yi פּויפּס (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · pdt Papst (nds) (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · de Päpstin (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · non páfi (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · be па́па (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ro papă (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ky папа (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · yue 教宗 (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · esu allgiliyaq (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · uz papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · bar Papst (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · mwl papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · vo jipapal (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · mi popi (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · hak 教宗 (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ar حَبْر (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · nn pave (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ht pap (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · hu pápa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · tg папаи Рим (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · gu ધર્મગુરુ (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · tk Rim papasy (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · li paus (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ko 법왕 (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · km សម្ដេចប៉ាប (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · frm pappe (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · gv paab (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ar حَبْر أَعْظَم (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ko 교황 (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · bn ধর্মযাজক (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · es Papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · pl papież (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ko 로마 교황 (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · vo hipapal (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · an papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · es vicecristo (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · bg па́па (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · fr pape (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · nl paus (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · vo papal (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · uz Rim papasi (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · io papo (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · nan-hbl 教宗 (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · it papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · th โป๊ป (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · uk па́па ри́мський (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · id paus (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · sga pápa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · da pave (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · uk па́па (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · sk pápež (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · tt Рим папасы (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · he אפיפיור \ אַפִּיפְיוֹר (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · nrf pape (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ga pápa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · az Roma papası (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · yi פּויפּסט (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · be па́па ры́мскі (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ru па́па ри́мский (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · hy Հռոմի պապ (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · tl papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · tr papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ca Papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · nb pave (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · sv påve (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · cs papež (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · nan-hbl 教皇 (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ka პაპი (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · mn пап (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · sq papë (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · lb Poopst (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · gl papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · pdt Pop (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · pl papieżyca (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · th สันตะปาปา (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · rmw 'måro båro rašaj (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · de Papst (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · sw papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · cmn 教皇 (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · sh pȃpa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · et paavst (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · es papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · la pāpa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · uz pop (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · shn မုၼ်ၸဝ်ႈပူပ်ႉ (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · fa پاپ (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · eo papo (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · vo pap (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · nci huēyi teōpixcātlahtoāni (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · lo ສັນຕະປາປາ (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · cy pab (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ast papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · kk Рим папасы (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · gu પાપા (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ar بَابَا (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ms paus (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · la pater (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · vi giáo hoàng ở La Mã (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · az papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · ky Рим папасы (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · mn Ромын пап (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · kok पापसायब (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · tk papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · oc papa (head of the Roman Catholic Church) · cmn 羅馬教宗 /罗马教宗 (head of the Roman Catholic Church)