pope

¹

[ pohp ]

noun

1. (often initial capital letter) the bishop of Rome as head of the Roman Catholic Church.
2. (in the early Christian church) a bishop.
3. a person considered as having or assuming authority or a position similar to that of the Roman Catholic pope.
4. the title of the Coptic patriarch of Alexandria.
5. Eastern Church.
   1. the Orthodox patriarch of Alexandria.
   2. (in certain churches) a parish priest.

Pope

²

[ pohp ]

noun

1. Alexander, 1688–1744, English poet.
2. John, 1822–92, Union general in the U.S. Civil War.
3. John Russell, 1874–1937, U.S. architect.

Popé

³

[ poh-pey ]

noun

1. died 1690?, Pueblo medicine man: led rebellion against the Spanish 1680.

pope

¹

/ pəʊp /

noun

1. often capital the bishop of Rome as head of the Roman Catholic Church papal
2. Eastern Orthodox Church
   1. a title sometimes given to a parish priest
   2. a title sometimes given to the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Alexandria
3. a person assuming or having a status or authority resembling that of a pope

pope

²

/ pəʊp /

noun

1. another name for ruffe

Pope

³

/ pəʊp /

noun

1. PopeAlexander16881744MEnglishWRITING: poetWRITING: satirist Alexander. 1688–1744, English poet, regarded as the most brilliant satirist of the Augustan period, esp with his Imitations of Horace (1733–38). His technical virtuosity is most evident in The Rape of the Lock (1712–14). Other works include The Dunciad (1728; 1742), the Moral Essays (1731–35), and An Essay on Man (1733–34)

pope

1. The head of the Roman Catholic Church . The pope is believed by his church to be the successor to the Apostle Peter . He is bishop of Rome and lives in a tiny nation within Rome called the Vatican . Catholics believe that when the pope speaks officially on matters of faith and morals, he speaks infallibly ( see papal infallibility ). ( See also John XXIII and John Paul II .)

Other Words From

• popeless adjective
• popelike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pope¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English pāpa < Late Latin: bishop, pope < Late Greek pápas bishop, priest, variant of páppas father; papa

Word History and Origins

Origin of pope¹

Old English papa, from Church Latin: bishop, esp of Rome, from Late Greek papas father-in-God, from Greek pappas father

Example Sentences

The cast of Renaissance characters is also large and somewhat ungainly, populated with outsize historical players that include Michelangelo, Savonarola, Raphael, Niccolò Machiavelli, Cesare Borgia, various popes, assorted Medicis and many more.

From Los Angeles Times

“But where the pope was going to be elected, she was going to be faithful to her vow. She just wants it all done correctly.”

From Los Angeles Times

The conclave is also disrupted by an unexpected guest: a cardinal secretly appointed by the pope.

From Los Angeles Times

The film, adapted from the novel by Robert Harris, depicts the chaos and intrigue of the secret procedure that unfolds once a pope dies.

From Los Angeles Times

Or, as many imagined it, "Rome rule," a brutal but incompetent dictatorship of drunken, brawling Irish Catholics under the personal direction of the pope.

From Salon

Related Words

• pontiff