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pontifex

pon·ti·fex
P p

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [pon-tuh-feks]
    • /ˈpɒn təˌfɛks/
    • /pˈɒntaɪfˌeks/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [pon-tuh-feks]
    • /ˈpɒn təˌfɛks/

Definitions of pontifex word

  • noun plural pontifex a member of the Pontifical College, which was presided over by a chief priest (Pontifex Maximus) 1
  • noun pontifex (in ancient Rome) any of the senior members of the Pontifical College, presided over by the Pontifex Maximus 0
  • noun pontifex in ancient Rome, a member of the supreme college of priests (Pontifical College) 0

Information block about the term

Origin of pontifex

First appearance:

before 1570
One of the 33% oldest English words
1570-80; < Latin: apparently literally, path-maker, equivalent to ponti- (stem of pōns) bridge, probably orig., path (see pons) + -fec- (combining form of facere to make) + -s nominative singular ending; the literal application is unclear

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Pontifex

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

pontifex popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 65% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

pontifex usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Top questions with pontifex

  • what does pontifex mean?
  • what is pontifex maximus?
  • what does pontifex maximus mean?

See also

Matching words

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