Meanings
comparative more popeable · superlative most popeable
- rareThought to be among those likely to be elected pope; papabile; papable.
Vatican watchers have already anointed the Honduran prelate papabile or “popeable.”
2001 February 20, May Ying Welsh, “Latin Cardinals hint at Church's future”, in CNN1 more example
In 2020, Edward Pentin, the senior Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Register, released a book on the topic, titled "The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates." In the book, Pentin listed 19 cardinals he considered to be papabile, or "popeable" frontrunners.
2025 April 21, Sam Clancy, Andrew Weil, “Former St. Louis archbishop Burke among 'popeable' candidates after Francis' death”, in KSDK
Origin
- Italianpapabile
- Englishpopeable
Calque of Italian papabile, equivalent to pope + -able.
More words from Italian
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
popeable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/popeable
“popeable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/popeable. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “popeable,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/popeable.
Source: popeable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.