LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinefirst declension

pāpa1

pāpa m (genitive pāpae, feminine pāpissa)
Classical[ˈpaː.pa]Ecclesiastical[ˈpaː.pa]

Meaning

  1. a dad, daddy, father
  2. EcclesiasticalLatina bishop
  3. EcclesiasticalLatina pope (the Roman Catholic bishop of Rome)
    Habēmus pāpam!The traditional exclamation in Rome after a papal election
  4. EcclesiasticalLatina patriarch (in primatial sees, notably Coptic Alexandria).

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativepāpapāpae
genitivepāpaepāpārum
dativepāpaepāpīs
accusativepāpampāpās
ablativepāpāpāpīs
vocativepāpapāpae

pāpa, ae, m. id.,
I. a father, papa; hence, in eccl. writers, a bishop: optime papa, Prud. στεφ. 11, 127; Tert. Pudic. 13.

Origins

Borrowed from Byzantine Greek πάπας (pápas, title for priests & bishops, especially by 3rd c. the bishop of Alexandria), from πάππας (páppas, “papa, daddy”). Some common folk etymologies derive it from various Latin acronyms, such as Petrī apostolī potestātem accipiēns (literally “the one who receives the power of the apostle Peter”).

Descendants
  • Italianpapa
  • Portuguesepapafrom Old Galician-Portuguese papa
  • Romanianpapă
  • Spanishpapa
  • Albanianpapë
  • Welshpabfrom Proto-Brythonic *pab
  • Dutchpaapfrom Old Dutch *papo
  • Old Englishpāpa
  • Old Frenchpape
  • Hungarianpápa

In English words that came into English from pāpa

  • popepāpa
  • papacypāpātia
  • papistpāpa
  • papalpāpālis
  • antipopeantipāpa
  • papapāpa
  • papaphobiapāpa
  • papaphiliapāpa
  • paparchypāpa
  • papolatrypāpa
  • papolaterpāpa
noun · femininefirst declension
pāpa2
pāpa f (genitive pāpae)
Classical[ˈpaː.pa]Ecclesiastical[ˈpaː.pa]

Meaning

  1. childishyum yum, num-num, food (especially pap)
    Cum cibum ac pōtiōnem "buās" ac "pāpās" vocent, mātrem "mammam", patrem "tatam".Since children call food "papa" and drink “bua”, mother "mamma" and father "tata".c. 280 CE, Nonius Marcellus, De compendiosa doctrina I 111.81 M.2–3

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativepāpapāpae
genitivepāpaepāpārum
dativepāpaepāpīs
accusativepāpampāpās
ablativepāpāpāpīs
vocativepāpapāpae

pāpa (pappa), ae, f. onomatopoeia,
I. the word with which infants call for food: cum cibum ac potionem buas ac papas vocent, Varr. ap. Non. 81, 4.
Papa,
I. a Roman surname, Inscr. Don. Cl. 7, n. 32.

Origins

A nursery word imitative of the movement of the infant's lips during eating. Compare English pap, German Papp, Hungarian papi, Polish papu. Also see the derivative pappō.

Quick answers

What does pāpa mean in Latin?
pāpa, a noun, means “a dad, daddy, father; a bishop; a pope (the Roman Catholic bishop of Rome)”.
What is the genitive of pāpa?
The genitive singular is pāpae. pāpa is masculine, first declension.
How do you pronounce pāpa?
In classical Latin, [ˈpaː.pa]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈpaː.pa].
Which English words come from pāpa?
English words that go back to Latin pāpa include pope, papist, papa, papaphobia, papaphilia and paparchy.