1. often Pope Roman Catholic Church. The bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church on earth.
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.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.