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papal

papal

31 7.9
Relating to the pope or his office
  • adjective
  • /ˈpeɪpəl/
: papal
  • The Prince of Antioch now has the funds, connections, manpower, papal decree and motivation to complete his task.
  • papal encyclical
  • papal authority
  • papal visit

And I also read the papal bulls from the Vatican.

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Examples

  • You are aware of the papal request regarding nuns' garments, aren't you?

  • The "loss" of the papal states turned out to be no loss, but a blessing.

    Academic text (1994)
  • - It's got a papal blessing.

  • It's almost a papal purple.

  • And I also read the papal bulls from the Vatican.

  • The first was probably the papal visit to Poland in June 1979.

    Academic text (1991)
  • The papal apartments will be locked and sealed.

  • When I, when I was a kid, we had to read this papal encyclical, which is on, on human labor.

  • A week later, the papal messenger brought Lily a clay vessel that contained figs and honey.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The pope issued a papal decree that changed the church's policies on marriage.

Synonyms

apostolic
vspapal
7 9.4

Relating to the pope or his authority in the Catholic Church

focuses on that office's authority without stressing succession
pontifical
vspapal
  • Formal
4 9.7

Relating to a bishop, the pope, or church ceremonies

is specific to the pope rather than bishops or ceremonies
apostolical
vspapal
  • Formal
1 9.9

Relating to the pope or to the pope's authority

is the general term for things issued by that authority

Compounds

papal nuncio
  • Formal
1 9.9

An official sent by the Pope who acts as his ambassador to a foreign government

papal bull
  • Formal
1 9.9

An official paper from the pope sealed with a lead seal

1 9.9

The belief that the pope cannot be wrong when speaking officially on faith or morals

1 8.4

Areas in central Italy that the pope ruled directly until 1870

1 8.9

A cross with three horizontal bars that stands for the Pope

9.9

A person chosen by the Pope to work as a helper in the Pope's household before 1968

How Ecclesiastical

papal
31 7.9
pontifical
  • Formal
4 9.7
ecclesiastical
  • Formal
12 9.9
religious
∞ 2.7
lay
38 4.9
secular
165 4.7

Surface Forms

papal positive

Morphology

papal = papa (opaque) = pap + al

The productive suffix -al is visible, but the stem is a learned classical form referring to the pope, so the meaning is not recoverable for most learners from modern English components.

Etymology

Papal comes from the old word papa meaning 'father', the same root as the word pope. So something papal is from the pope or his office and is under his authority.