Word
papacy
Phoneticspa·pa·cy
US/ˈpeɪpəsi/
UK/pˈæpəsi/
Definitions
01the office or position
n. the position or authority of the Pope.
n. the office or dignity of the Pope as the supreme head of the Roman Catholic Church.
“The papacy has a long history that goes back hundreds of years.”
“Historians often debate the extent to which the medieval papacy influenced the political landscape of Europe.”
Formal
Usage
Often used with the definite article 'the'.
Synonyms
02a specific pope's reign
n. the period of time that a particular person serves as Pope.
n. the period during which a specific pope is in office.
“Many changes happened during the papacy of John Paul II.”
“The short papacy of John Paul I lasted only thirty-three days before his sudden death in 1978.”
Formal
03the institution
n. the system of government of the Roman Catholic Church led by the Pope.
n. the system of ecclesiastical government in which the Pope is recognized as the supreme head.
“The papacy is based in Vatican City in Rome.”
“Diplomatic relations between the papacy and various secular governments have evolved significantly over the last century.”
Formal
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“However, by the end of the 13th century, the papacy had successfully established its authority over both ordinary people and secular rulers.” Etymology
Circa 14th century, from Middle English papacie, papassie, from Medieval Latin pāpātia, from Latin pāpa (“pope”) + -tia (“office, rank”) (English -cy).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/papacy