papal
adj.adj. relating to the Pope, who is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
adj. relating to the Pope or the papacy. Typically used in formal or ecclesiastical contexts to describe authority, decrees, or history.
The crowd waited for the papal blessing.
The ambassador presented his credentials during a formal papal audience at the Vatican.
Historians often examine papal bulls from the Middle Ages to understand how religious authority influenced the political landscape of Europe.
From Middle English papal, from Old French papal and Medieval Latin pāpālis (“papal”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Usage
Typically used attributively before the noun it modifies.
Last updated May 6, 2026