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
Pig Latin uses a similar encoding. French has the "loucherbem" (or "louchébem", or "largonji") coded language, which supposedly was originally used by butchers ("boucher" in French). In "loucherbem", the leading consonant cluster is moved to the end of the word (as in Pig Latin) and replaced by an "L", and then a suffix is added at the end of the word (-"oche", -"em", -"oque", etc., depending on the word). Example: "combien" (how much) = "lombienquès". Similar coded languages are "verlan" and "langue de feu" (see . A few louchébem words have become usual French words: "fou" (crazy) = "loufoque", "portefeuille" (wallet) =