The word 'vatican' comes from Latin and is a contraction of two words in the following way: 'Vatis' = 'profetic' or 'diviner' 'Can' = 'serpent/snake'. These two words combined make: 'the profetic- or made devine serpent'. The Vatican is a place, so you may say, that 'Vatican' means 'the place of the profetic- and worshipped serpent'.