Where does “pontiff” come from?
Pontiff comes from Middle French pontife, from Latin pontifex, combining Latin facere and facio, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁-, meaning to make or do.
pontiff (English): A bishop of the early Church; now specifically,...
Definitions
- A bishop of the early Church; now specifically,...
Ancestry of “pontiff”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | pontife | pontiff |
| 2 | Latin | pontifex | a high priest, State minister in ancient Rome; a... |
| 3 | Latin | pōns | A bridge, a construction or natural feature that spans a divide |
| 4 | Latin | fractus | broken, shattered, having been broken;... |
| 5 | Latin | frangere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 6 | Latin | frangō | to break, shatter |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰrēǵ- | to shine, shimmer |