Antipope

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈantɪpəʊp/

Origin

From Middle French antipape (later assimilated to - + pope), from Medieval Latin antipāpa.

Full definition of antipope

Noun

1. (Christianity) A person who claims or claimed to be the pope as the result of a disputed election, but is not considered by the Roman Catholic Church to be the real pope.
• 2007, Edwin Mullins, The Popes of Avignon, Blue Bridge 2008, p. 59:Meanwhile support for the ‘puppet’ antipope Nicholas V, deprived of his protector and by now excommunicated along with his emperor, rapidly withered away.