hierarchy

[ hahy-uh-rahr-kee, hahy-rahr- ]

noun

, plural hi·er·ar·chies.

1. any system of persons or things ranked one above another.
2. government by ecclesiastical rulers.
3. the power or dominion of a hierarch.
4. an organized body of ecclesiastical officials in successive ranks or orders:

   the Roman Catholic hierarchy.

5. one of the three divisions of the angels, each made up of three orders, conceived as constituting a graded body.
6. Also called celestial hierarchy. the collective body of angels.
7. government by an elite group.
8. Linguistics. the system of levels according to which a language is organized, as phonemic, morphemic, syntactic, or semantic.

hierarchy

/ ˈhaɪəˌrɑːkɪ /

noun

1. a system of persons or things arranged in a graded order
2. a body of persons in holy orders organized into graded ranks
3. the collective body of those so organized
4. a series of ordered groupings within a system, such as the arrangement of plants and animals into classes, orders, families, etc
5. See tree, heterarchy, ordering
   linguistics maths a formal structure, usually represented by a diagram of connected nodes, with a single uppermost element Compare ordering heterarchy tree
6. government by an organized priesthood

Derived Forms

• ˌhierˈarchically, adverb
• ˈhierˌarchism, noun
• ˌhierˈarchical, adjective

Other Words From

• anti·hier·archy noun plural antihierarchies adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hierarchy¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English jerarchie, from Middle French ierarchie, gerarchie, from Medieval Latin (h)ierarchia, from Late Greek hierarchía “stewardship of sacred rites, rule or power of the high priest,” equivalent to hier(o)- “holy, sacred” + -archía, a combining form meaning “rule”; hier(o)-, -archy

Word History and Origins

Origin of hierarchy¹

C14: from Medieval Latin hierarchia, from Late Greek hierarkhia, from hierarkhēs high priest; see hiero- , -archy

Example Sentences

However, if you begin to look carefully at sentences, what you find is that they are organized in this hierarchy.

From Nautilus

Forbes was generally a pretty platooned place, and there was a hierarchy and knowledge was exchanged very judiciously in the ranks.

From Digiday

Usually, at some point below board level, someone in the hierarchy doesn’t have time to think purely about organic non-brand clicks.

From Search Engine Land

Upfronts upendedAs the playing field levels between the TV companies and the streaming platforms, the hierarchy for upfront negotiations has the potential to be upended.

From Digiday

We try to understand the ways in which hierarchies are created and maintained.

From Freakonomics

Copies of the letter were sent to senior members of the church hierarchy and to the Soviet government.

From The Daily Beast

Absolutely: “Courage I would rank now in the hierarchy of art and love.”

From The Daily Beast

It was, I have to say, at the bottom of the hierarchy of royal honors, a British Empire Medal.

From The Daily Beast

Information received from the different branches of the ISIS network is channeled up through a strict hierarchy.

From The Daily Beast

A strong sense of hierarchy took root as the schools expanded.

From The Daily Beast

Later still, for the same reason, when he was making his hierarchy stronger, he created him one of his new Dukes.

From Project Gutenberg

Under a Philippine hierarchy there would be a danger of the natives reverting to paganism and fetichism.

From Project Gutenberg

As our oldest member used to say, "A society without a hierarchy is like a house without a staircase."

From Project Gutenberg

This hierarchy of all feudal seigniories existed in name only, never in fact.

From Project Gutenberg

Without sifting the nature of Beauty, without giving some definition of it, nobody can attempt to construct a Hierarchy of Art.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• pecking order
• ranking