Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The office and jurisdiction of a pope.
  • noun The period of time during which a pope is in office.
  • noun A succession or line of popes.
  • noun Roman Catholic Church The system of church government headed by the pope.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The office, dignity, and authority of the Pope or Bishop of Rome; the papal; jurisdiction; the ecclesiastical organization subject to the Pope.
  • noun The succession or line of popes, with its ecclesiastical and political traditions.
  • noun That system of ecclesiastical government which recognizes and is based upon the apostolic primacy and supreme authority of the Pope or Bishop of Rome over the church universal; the Church of Rome; the Roman Catholic Church.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The office and dignity of the pope, or pontiff, of Rome; papal jurisdiction.
  • noun The popes, collectively; the succession of popes.
  • noun The Roman Catholic religion; -- commonly used by the opponents of the Roman Catholics in disparagement or in an opprobrious sense.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The office of the pope.
  • noun The period of a particular pope's reign.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the government of the Roman Catholic Church

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English papacie, from Medieval Latin pāpātia, from Late Latin pāpa, pope; see pope.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Circa 14th century, from Medieval Latin papatia, from Latin papa ("pope") + -tia ("office, rank") (English -cy).

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Examples

  • Q: If Joan's papacy is so well documented, why is the subject so controversial?

    A Conversation with Donna Woolfolk Cross 2010

  • Unfortunately, Pope Benedict's papacy is already shaping up as a series of such disasters.

    Vatican must confess, apologize and put children first 2010

  • One of the chief goals of Benedict's papacy is to battle trends toward an increasingly secular society, particularly in western Europe.

    USATODAY.com - Pope Benedict XVI begins homecoming visit to his native Bavaria 2006

  • His papacy is likely to continue to deal with that rift and other such divisions in global society.

    Different popes a reflection of different periods 2006

  • As it sets in motion the election of the next Pope, it serves as a reminder that the papacy is not passed on but taken up afresh — that it is recast by each man who occupies the office, and that the process by which a new Pope is chosen is something other than a simple succession.

    In Search of a Pope 2004

  • As it sets in motion the election of the next Pope, it serves as a reminder that the papacy is not passed on but taken up afresh — that it is recast by each man who occupies the office, and that the process by which a new Pope is chosen is something other than a simple succession.

    In Search of a Pope 2004

  • So will the questions of whether the papacy is to pass from Europe (now seen as a pagan place that needs to be converted all over again) and whether the Italian cardinals or the German ones will hold sway in the conclave.

    In Search of a Pope 2004

  • So will the questions of whether the papacy is to pass from Europe (now seen as a pagan place that needs to be converted all over again) and whether the Italian cardinals or the German ones will hold sway in the conclave.

    In Search of a Pope 2004

  • The papacy is a false anticipation of the kingdom during the Church-historical period.

    Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible 1871

  • The papacy is NOT 'infallible'crows a poster on the Democratic Underground site), you might logically fixate on Benedict's admission that matters weren't handled well.

    Ecumenism 2009

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