papacy · noun — the office of a pope. It carries an Arena rating of 1429, earned across 10 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, papacy ranks #6,161 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #6,402 of 17,134 for Most Elegant Words, #6,588 of 17,115 for Most Storied Words, #8,730 of 17,135 for Most Sublime Words.
papacy is pronounced /ˈpeɪ.pə.si/.
Why “papacy” is a great word
The supreme spiritual and administrative authority vested in the Bishop of Rome as the successor of Saint Peter. From Medieval Latin pāpātia ("papal office"), from Late Latin pāpa ("pope, father") + the suffix -tia (denoting office or rank), equivalent to English -cy; first attested in English in the late 14th century. Unlike a pontificate, which is the tenure of a specific man, or the Holy See, a legal and diplomatic entity, the papacy is the immortal institution itself—the office that outlives its occupant. It is the weight of the Fisherman's Ring upon a new hand, the echo of ancient liturgy in a thousand tongues, and the white smoke that signals an end and a beginning; it is the belief that a man, for a time, can be the rock upon which eternity is built.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
Circa 14th century, from Middle English papacie, papassie, from Medieval Latin pāpātia, from Latin pāpa (“pope”) + -tia (“office, rank”) (English -cy).
noun
- The office of a pope.
- The office of a pope.; The office of the pope of Rome, who is the head of the Roman Catholic Church.e.g.“The Vatican defends the primacy of the papacy.”
- The period of a particular pope's reign.e.g.“The papacy of John Paul II ended in 2005, after the pope's long battle with illness ended.”
- Roman Catholicism generally: synonym of popery.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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