Papamobile

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An armored or specially equipped automobile designed to safely transport the Pope during public appearances and journeys
2. A protective motor vehicle built to convey the pontiff securely through crowds and across distances during papal visits
3. A specially designed and fortified car employed to carry the head of the Roman Catholic Church in public processions and official travels

Etymology: Papamobile is a compound of "papa", the Italian and Latin-derived word for "pope" (from Late Latin "papa", a child's word for father), and "mobile", a shortening of "automobile". The blend was coined in the 1980s, when Pope John Paul II began using open-topped, bulletproof vehicles for his travels among crowds. The term was popularised by the press during his 1980 visit to Ireland (Hmm, no) Correction to my draft above: the vehicle name is a press coinage, and the earliest trips that gave rise to it are best dated to the 1980s, with the term spreading widely through media coverage of his tours. The word follows the same pattern as "automobile", with "mobile" standing in for the whole car, and it is recorded as a modern, deliberately playful blend rather than an older word with a long history.