# pontiff

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈpɒntɪf/ · frequency rank #37,163

## Definitions
1. A member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs; a pontifex.
2. A bishop of the early Church; now specifically, the Pope.
3. Any chief figure or leader of a religion.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French pontife m, from Latin pontifex m. Doublet of pontifex.

## Easily confused with
- **Pontiac** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pontiac-vs-pontiff)

## Common misspellings (9)
`opntiff`, `pnotiff`, `ponitff`, `ponntiff`, `pontfif`, `pontif`, `ponttiff`, `potniff`, `ppontiff`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/pontiff