papal

adjective

pa·​pal ˈpā-pəl How to pronounce papal (audio)
: of or relating to a pope or to the Roman Catholic Church
also : resembling a pope or that of a pope
papally adverb

Examples of papal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Related article Australian council votes to take down statue of premier who decapitated Aboriginal man’s body Away from home she was also appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and awarded a papal honor from Pope John Paul II. Lianne Kolirin, CNN, 26 Feb. 2024 So as part of his papal bull, Pope Gregory XIII also declared that every 400th year would once again acquire a leap day. Phil Plait, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2024 It had been widely speculated by Vatican experts that the two leaders would speak of a possible papal trip to Argentina during their meeting, but the Vatican did not confirm any talks on that topic. Elisabetta Povoledo, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2024 Becciu retained his title but was stripped of his rights as a cardinal, including the right to participate in a papal conclave, after being incriminated in this case. Phoebe Natanson, ABC News, 16 Dec. 2023 In the 1400s, the surrounding structures functioned as a convent belonging to Pope Sixtus IV (during the restoration, Alessandro found original papal coats of arms from the late 1400s engraved in the high beams). Chiara Barzini, Vogue, 28 Nov. 2023 Key developments Lithuania summoned the country’s papal envoy Wednesday over remarks by Pope Francis at the weekend that appeared to glorify Russia’s imperial past and sparking a backlash. Sarah Dadouch, Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2023 Gabriele Giordano Caccia, the papal nuncio to the United Nations. Rosalie R. Radomsky, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2023 The papal phone call came amid Israel’s public criticism of the Vatican’s tendency to treat the Israel Defense Forces as morally equivalent to the Hamas terrorists who targeted, attacked and butchered unarmed Israeli civilians. William McGurn, WSJ, 23 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'papal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin papalis, from Late Latin papa

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of papal was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near papal

Cite this Entry

“Papal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/papal. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

papal

adjective
pa·​pal ˈpā-pəl How to pronounce papal (audio)
: of or relating to the pope or the papacy
papally adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on papal

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!