Editing Pontiff (section)

==Etymology==
The English term derives through Old [[French language|French]] ''pontif''<ref name=Heritage/><ref>In modern French the corresponding term is ''pontife''</ref> from Latin ''pontifex'', a word commonly held to come from the Latin root words ''pons'', ''pont-'' (bridge) + ''facere'' (to do, to make), and so to have the literal meaning of "bridge-builder", presumably between mankind and the deity/deities. Uncertainty prevailing, this may be only a [[folk etymology]],<ref name=OED/> but it may also recall ancient tasks and magic rites associated with bridges.<ref name=Britannica>{{Cite web|title=Roman religion|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Roman-religion|access-date=2023-02-17|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> The term may also be an allusion to Ancient Roman Religious rituals for placating the gods and spirits associated with the [[Tiber River]], for instance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/ancient/7Cnuma.asp |title=Internet History Sourcebooks |website=fordham.edu}}</ref> Also, Varro cites this position as meaning "able to do".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xQd82l39KX4C&pg=PA195|title=Religions of Rome: Volume 2, A Sourcebook |first1=Mary |last1=Beard |first2=John |last2=North |first3=Simon|last3=Price |date=June 28, 1998 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521456463 |via=Google Books}}</ref>