Etymology

pontifical

P3O1N1T1I1F4I1C3A1L1

Today it means: Of or pertaining to a bishop; episcopal. Full definition →

Latin pontificāli ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? ← Proto-Italic *pontifaks
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pent-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*póntoh₁s
  3. Proto-Italic*ponts
  4. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
  5. Proto-Italic*pontifaks
  6. Latinpontifex
  7. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  9. Latinpontificāli
  10. English todaypontifical

Learned borrowing from Latin pontificālis.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.