Papalist

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A person who supports the pope's authority and the power of the papacy within the church
2. An individual who advocates for the leadership and influence of the pope in religious matters
3. Someone who favors the pope's supremacy and upholds the central role of the papacy in Catholicism

Etymology: "Papalist" is a plain English formation: it combines "papal," the adjective meaning of or relating to the pope, with the suffix "-ist," which marks a person who adheres to or supports a particular principle, system or cause. The result names someone who backs the pope's authority and the papacy's power within the church, in the same way "royalist" names a supporter of monarchy. The suffix does most of the work here. "-ist" was taken into English through French and Latin from Greek agent-forming endings, and it has produced countless party and doctrine labels, so "papalist" slots readily into that pattern. The base "papal" itself comes from medieval Latin "papalis," derived from "papa," the word for the bishop of Rome.