hierarch

[ hahy-uh-rahrk, hahy-rahrk ]

/ ˈhaɪ əˌrɑrk, ˈhaɪ rɑrk /

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noun

a person who rules or has authority in sacred matters; high priest.

a person having high position or considerable authority.

one of a body of officials or minor priests in certain ancient Greek temples.

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Origin of hierarch

1480–90; <Medieval Latin hierarcha<Greek hierárchēs steward of sacred rites, equivalent to hier-hier- + -archēs-arch

OTHER WORDS FROM hierarch

hi·er·ar·chal, adjectivean·ti·hi·er·ar·chal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use hierarch in a sentence

The characters inhabit a patriarchal, unalterably hierarchal society, where class—and the chasms it creates—is front and center.
Khaled Hosseini’s Favorite Story Collections|Khaled Hosseini|May 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Some of that must surely be because of tradition and formality, but there is also an element of the hierarchal at work.
Herman Cain's Power Suit|Robin Givhan|November 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The English Church had retained many of the forms of Rome, including its hierarchal system of priests and bishops.
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 11|Various
But they could not hold this power, because of lack of a complete organization of a hierarchal power.
The Spirit of God As Fire|D. Mortimore

The hierarchal Jewish state was a thorn in the flesh of the Roman statecraft that aimed at the unity of the empire.
Introduction to the Science of Sociology|Robert E. Park
Such a state of opinion excludes the danger of priestcraft, and is opposed to all hierarchal pretensions.
Ten Great Religions|James Freeman Clarke
Like Protestantism, it is a reform, which rejects a hierarchal system and does away with a priestly caste.
Nineteenth Century Questions|James Freeman Clarke

British Dictionary definitions for hierarch

hierarch

/ (ˈhaɪəˌrɑːk) /

noun

a person in a position of high priestly authority
a person holding high rank in a religious hierarchy

a person at a high level in a hierarchy

Derived forms of hierarch

hierarchal, adjective

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

hierarch

Origin of hierarch

OTHER WORDS FROM hierarch

Words related to hierarch

How to use hierarch in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hierarch

Derived forms of hierarch