Papal States
1
8.4
- proper noun
:
Estados Pontificios
- The background here was the First Vatican Council, where a preparatory commission had drawn up a lengthy draft declaration on the church, but deliberations were cut short by the Franco-Prussian War and the invasion of the Papal States by the Piedmontese armies.
Examples
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The notion of the existence of a causal relationship between Italian politics and economic structure emerges clearly in an 1848 letter of instructions by James Buchanan to Jacob L. Martin, who had just been appointed to the position of charge d'affaires to the Papal States.
Academic text (2001) -
Buchanan believed the pope's political and economic reformism opened new commercial prospects for the United States, and his letter is packed with requests for specific information regarding the economy of Rome and the character of the league: "What is the rate of duties imposed in the Papal States on our cotton, rice, tobacco, grain, and other productions?
Academic text (2001) -
Remind your master that I am at war... and will remain at war until I recover the Papal States for the church.
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And save for the Ottoman Empire, the Papal States were the most corrupt in modern history.
Blog text (11) -
The naval galleys of the Papal States captured Muslim galley slaves.
Blog text (13) -
That is why it is necessary to support our armies in Bologna... and show ourselves to the people... demonstrating we will not tolerate the enemy... who wishes to separate the Papal States of the Church and destroy us.
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The Donation of Constantine was cited in writing by no less than 10 Popes as proof of their civil authority and sovereignty over Rome, and what came to be known as the Papal States, which included a large portion of Italy.
Blog text (30) -
It is unfortunate that Garibaldi's invasion of the Papal States prevented that judgment from being debated in the Council and from being incorporated into the authentic teaching of Vatican I.
Academic text (1991) -
Commenting on the revolutions that had taken place in the Papal States in the previous three decades, for instance, the North American Review of Boston scornfully observed in 1852 that revolts involved a population "at least equal, probably much superior, to that of the United States as it was at the beginning of the Revolutionary War."
Academic text (2001) -
After the Italian unification, many people felt nostalgia for the Papal States and their historical significance.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is directly compositional: 'papal' means pertaining to the pope and 'states' means political territories, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it refers to territories ruled by the pope. Although the historical time frame is specialized knowledge, the core meaning (states under papal authority) is transparently derived from the constituents and is cross-linguistically predictable.
Etymology
Papal States comes from a time when the pope was not only a church leader but also the ruler of parts of central Italy. The word Papal means 'of the pope' and States means 'lands or territories', so the phrase came to mean the lands directly ruled by the pope.