nuncio
/ˈnʌnʃiˌoʊ/ noun, proper noun
Forms nuncios
- noun (Roman Catholicism) The ecclesiastic title of a permanent diplomatic representative of the Roman Catholic Church to a sovereign state or international organization, who is accorded a rank equivalent to an accredited ambassador, and may also be given additional privileges including recognition as Dean in a country's diplomatic corps.
- noun (by extension) One who bears a message; a messenger.
- noun (historical) Any member of any Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Galicia (of the Austrian Partition), Duchy of Warsaw, Congress Poland, or Grand Duchy of Posen.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
Etymology
It. nunzio, nuncio, fr. L. nuncius, nuntius, messenger; perh. akin to novus new, E. new, and thus, one who brings news. Cf. Announce.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A messenger. [Obs.] Shak.
- noun The permanent official representative of the pope at a foreign court or seat of government. Distinguished from a legate a latere, whose mission is temporary in its nature, or for some special purpose. Nuncios are of higher rank than internuncios.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “nuncio”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details