Pontifex maximus pointed out that the term existed before there were any bridges in Rome and derived the word from Old Latin "pontis" (sic) meaning a powerful or absolute master, while others derived it from "potis facere" in the sense of "able to sacrifice". The last derivation is mentioned also by Varro, who rejected it, but it was the view of Pontifex Maximus Quintus Scaevola. Others have held that the word was originally "pompifex" (leader of public processions). The word "pons" originally meant "way" and "pontifex" would thus mean "maker of roads and bridges". Another opinion is that the word is a
Latin word order about 46% of cases), but this is rarer in Cicero (only 10% of cases). Several scholars have examined Latin sentences from a syntactic point of view, in particular the position of the verb. In sentences with Subject, Object, and Verb, any order is possible. However, some orders are more common than others. In a sample of 568 sentences of Caesar containing all three elements examined by Pinkster, the proportions were: An example of the typical Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order in Caesar is: A dependent infinitive, such as "interfici" "to be killed" below, also in Caesar usually precedes its verb: However,