Word.ws English Dictionary

Pope Joan

Pope Joan proper noun: a mythical female pope who allegedly reigned for a few years during the Middle Ages.

Proper noun

Pope Joan

  1. A mythical female pope who allegedly reigned for a few years during the Middle Ages.

Noun

Pope Joan (uncountable)

  1. A card game played on a round board with compartments.
    • He could sing, and talk, and drink, and keep things stirring, and the gentlemen liked him; and he was, 'twas said, a wonderful fine player at whist, and piquet, and ombre, and all sorts of card-playing. So you see he could afford to play fair. The first time he came down, he fought three duels...1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard
    • The game of Pope Joan is played on a special circular board with divisions, and often lacquered in red and gold upon a black background. It was played early in the nineteenth century and several boards exist, mainly in museums and also in some of the stately homes of England. It was a popular game...1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 117

Examples of Pope Joan in a sentence

  • The first time he came down, he fought three duels about a tipsy quarrel over a pool of Pope Joan.1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:
  • The game of Pope Joan is played on a special circular board with divisions, and often lacquered in red and gold upon a black background.1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 117:

Questions about Pope Joan

What does Pope Joan mean?
Pope Joan means a mythical female pope who allegedly reigned for a few years during the Middle Ages.
How do you use Pope Joan in a sentence?
The first time he came down, he fought three duels about a tipsy quarrel over a pool of Pope Joan.
What part of speech is Pope Joan?
Pope Joan can be a proper noun or a noun.

Words near Pope Joan in the dictionary

  1. pope
  2. Pope County
  3. Pope Day
  4. pope hat
  5. pope hats
  6. Pope Joan
  7. Pope Julius
  8. Pope Night
  9. pope's eye
  10. pope's head
  11. pope's living room

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Pope Joan (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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