n. 1. often Pope Roman Catholic Church The bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church. 2. Eastern Orthodox Church The patriarch of Alexandria. 3. The Coptic patriarch of Alexandria. 4. The male head of some non-Christian religions: the Taoist pope. 5. A person considered to have unquestioned authority: the pope of surrealism. [Middle English, from Old English pāpa, from Late Latin, from Latin, father (title of bishops), from Greek pappās; see papa in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
American Union general in the Civil War who was defeated by Gen. Robert E. Lee at the Second Battle of Bull Run (1862). |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
English writer best remembered for his satirical mock-epic poems The Rape of the Lock (1712) and The Dunciad (1728). |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.