Etymology: from Latin pontifex, probably from pont-, stem of pons, "bridge" plus -fex, -ficis, root of facere "to make". If so, the word originally meant "bridge-maker", or "path-maker". Bridge-building has always been regarded as a pious work of divine inspiration, or the term may be metaphoric of bridging the earthly world and the realm of the gods.

The chief or senior priest and head of the state religion of Rome; in this case, it is not a reference to the Roman Catholic Church but to classical Rome.

At first he was probably required to be a patrician, but by the middle Republic era he was more than likely to be a plebeian. He supervised all of the various members of the priestly colleges—augurs, pontifices, other minor priests, and the Vestal Virgins.