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  • Patri
    Patri
    noun
    Angelo 1877–1965, U.S. educator and writer, born in Italy.
  • patri-
    patri-
    a combining form meaning “father,” occurring originally in loanwords from Greek and Latin (patriarch; patrician ), and used in the formation of new compounds (patrilineal ).

Patri

1 American  
[pah-tree] / ˈpɑ tri /

noun

  1. Angelo 1877–1965, U.S. educator and writer, born in Italy.


patri- 2 American  
  1. a combining form meaning “father,” occurring originally in loanwords from Greek and Latin (patriarch; patrician ), and used in the formation of new compounds (patrilineal ).


patri- British  

combining form

  1. father

    patricide

    patrilocal

"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

Usage

What does patri- mean? The combining form patri- is used like a prefix meaning “father.” It is often used in a variety of scientific and technical terms, especially in anthropology. Patri- comes from Latin pater, meaning “father.” The Greek cognate, also meaning “father,” is patḗr, which is the source of patriarchy. Find out more at our entry for the word. The “mother” counterpart to patri- is matri-. Check out our Words That Use article for matri- to learn more. What are variants of patri-?When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, patri- becomes the rare form patr-. Want to know more? Check out our Words That Use article for patr-.

Etymology

Origin of patri-

Combining form representing Latin pater, Greek patḗr father


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Patri Friedman, a software engineer and grandson of economist Milton Friedman, first tried building floating city-states, and then launched a fund to seed “startup cities.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

After initially being used as a winger, Lopez is now largely used in a central role for club and country despite competition from the likes of Bonmati, Patri Guijarro and her idol Alexia Putellas.

From BBC ● May 22, 2026

Spain duo Patri Guijarro and Mariona Caldentey were also contenders chosen by a panel of experts, including coaches, players, administrators and journalists, based on performances over 12 months from September 2024 to August 2025.

From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2025

Based in San Francisco, the organization was founded by Patri Friedman, a Google software engineer and grandson of Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize–winning economist best known for his ideas about the limitations of government.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2025

The most familiar doxologies in use in our Church are the "Gloria Patri," the "Gloria in Excelsis," and the well-known verse, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow," &c.

From The Church Handy Dictionary by Anonymous

Octavian, born at Rome in 938, of the patrician Alberic, and afterwards patri- cian himself in 954, installed in Jan. 956; banished in 963 by the emperor Otho the Great, 963 132.

From The Power Of The Popes by Pierre Claude Fran?ois Daunou

The horrors are not blinked at, yet neither is Russian patri- otism ignored.

From The Survivors of the Chancellor by Jules Verne

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