exarch

[ ek-sahrk ]

noun

Eastern Church.
- a patriarch's deputy.
- a title originally applied to a patriarch but later applied only to a bishop ranking below a patriarch and above a metropolitan.
the ruler of a province in the Byzantine Empire.

Origin of exarch

1580–90; <Late Latin exarchus superintendent <Greek éxarchos overseer, leader, equivalent to ex-ex-³ + -archos-arch

Other words from exarch

ex·arch·al, adjective

Other definitions for exarch (2 of 2)

exarch²

[ ek-sahrk ]

adjectiveBotany.

(of a primary xylem or root) developing from the center; having the youngest cells closest to the core.

Origin of exarch

1890–95; ex-² + Greek archḗ beginning

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use exarch in a sentence

Under the exarchs of Ravenna, Rome was degraded to the second rank.
The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire | Edward Gibbon
The Ostrogothic monarchy was overthrown, and the emperor governed Italy by his exarchs at Ravenna.
History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, Volume I (of 2) | John William Draper
Under the exarchs, the credit and influence of the popes augmented, but even then they had not the smallest degree of civil power.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 9 (of 10) | Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
In conscious imitation, the Church established ecclesiastical exarchs or patriarchs in these local capitals.
The Rise of the Mediaeval Church | Alexander Clarence Flick
Near this church is part of the front of the palace of Theodoric, in which the Exarchs and Lombard kings subsequently resided.
Saunterings | Charles Dudley Warner

British Dictionary definitions for exarch (1 of 2)

exarch¹

/ (ˈɛksɑːk) /

noun

the head of certain autonomous Orthodox Christian Churches, such as that of Bulgaria and Cyprus
any of certain Eastern Orthodox bishops, lower in rank than a patriarch but higher than a metropolitan

the governor of a province in the Byzantine Empire

Origin of exarch

C16: from Late Latin exarchus overseer, from Greek exarkhos, from exarkhein to take the lead, from arkhein to rule

Derived forms of exarch

exarchal, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for exarch (2 of 2)

exarch²

/ (ˈɛksɑːk) /

adjective

botany (of a xylem strand) having the first-formed xylem external to that formed later: Compare endarch, mesarch

Origin of exarch

C19: from ex- 1 (outside) + Greek arkhē beginning, origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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