Pontifical

/pɒnˈtɪfɪk(ə)l/ · adjective

Meaning

Of or pertaining to a pontiff..

Definitions by Sense

1. Of or pertaining to a pontiff.
2. Pompous, dignified or dogmatic.
3. Splendid; magnificent.
4. Of or pertaining to the pontifices of Ancient Rome.
5. (chiefly poetic) Of or relating to the building or forming of bridges.
6. A book containing the offices, or formulas, used by a pontiff.

Example Sentences

Now had they brought the work by wondrous art / Pontifical, a ridge of pendent rock / Over the vexed abyss.

Both ordines are related to an ordo in a pontifical in Reims, the Ordo of 1200 (Ordo XIX). The latter was to be consulted again and again, and its formulas were to have a marked effect upon the French ceremony; […]

William Durandus, bishop of Mende in the south of France, compiled a pontifical in three books. William never intended his work to be a universal pontifical, but its clarity of arrangement and quality of substance, along with […]

If the editio princeps was an attempt to create an authoritative version of the pontifical, such was not yet attainable.

Synonyms for pontifical

Antonyms for pontifical

Related Words

Word Forms

• more pontifical
• most pontifical
• pontificals

Usage Notes

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