What do the latin words "Pontifex Maximus" mean in English?

Question

Those are carved on every monument I have had a chance to visit in Rome this summer.

I understand it refers to the different Popes of the time who ordered the building of the monuments but I'd like to know the exact meaning.

Answer 1

Well, it literally means "greatest bridgebuilder", but it's generally translated as high priest or head priest.  The Pontifex Maximum was considered the chief priest in ancient Rome.

Answer 2

pons=bridge

facere=to make or build

maximus=the big one

i.e. the big bridge builder

Answer 3

Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the Ancient Roman College of Pontiffs.

According to the usual interpretation, the term pontifex literally means "bridge-builder" (pons + facere); "maximus" literally means "greatest". This was perhaps originally meant in a literal sense: the position of bridge-builder was indeed an important one in Rome, where the major bridges were over the Tiber, the sacred river (and a deity): only prestigious authorities with sacral functions could be allowed to "disturb" it with mechanical additions.