patriarch

[ pey-tree-ahrk ]

/ ˈpeɪ triˌɑrk /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: patriarch / patriarchal on Thesaurus.com

noun

the male head of a family or tribal line.

a person regarded as the father or founder of an order, class, etc.

any of the very early Biblical personages regarded as the fathers of the human race, comprising those from Adam to Noah (antediluvian patriarchs ) and those between the Deluge and the birth of Abraham.

any of the three great progenitors of the Israelites: Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob.

any of the sons of Jacob (the twelve patriarchs ), from whom the tribes of Israel were descended.

(in the early Christian church) any of the bishops of any of the ancient sees of Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, Jerusalem, or Rome having authority over other bishops.

Greek Orthodox Church. the head of any of the ancient sees of Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, or Jerusalem, and sometimes including other sees of chief cities.Compare ecumenical patriarch.

the head of certain other churches in the East, as the Coptic, Nestorian, and Armenian churches, that are not in full communication with the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople.

Roman Catholic Church.

the pope as patriarch of the West.
any of certain bishops of the Eastern rites, as a head of an Eastern rite or a bishop of one of the ancient sees.
the head of a Uniate church.

Mormon Church. any of the high dignitaries who pronounce the blessing of the church; Evangelist.

one of the elders or leading older members of a community.

a venerable old man.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of patriarch

1175–1225; Middle English patriark(e) (<Old French ) <Late Latin patriarcha<Late Greek patriárchēs high-ranking bishop, Greek: family head equivalent to patri(á) family, derivative of patḗrfather + -archēs-arch

OTHER WORDS FROM patriarch

pa·tri·ar·chal, pa·tri·ar·chic, pa·tri·ar·chi·cal, adjectivepa·tri·arch·dom, pa·tri·arch·ship, nounan·ti·pa·tri·arch, noun

Words nearby patriarch

patres conscripti, patresfamilias, Patri, patrial, patria potestas, patriarch, patriarchal, patriarchal cross, patriarchalism, patriarchate, patriarchs

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

How to use patriarch in a sentence

The recent Trumpworld legal shakeup isn’t confined to the patriarch of the family.
Trumpworld’s Star Lawyers Exit as Storm Clouds Gather|Asawin Suebsaeng, Maxwell Tani, Roger Sollenberger, Adam Rawnsley|September 23, 2021|The Daily Beast
The practice of confiscating child support payments from the poor persists in part because some policymakers believe that welfare should be considered a loan, to be repaid by the patriarch of the family.
These Single Moms Are Forced to Choose: Reveal Their Sexual Histories or Forfeit Welfare|by Eli Hager, photography by Adria Malcolm, special to ProPublica|September 17, 2021|ProPublica
Always a shady, controversial figure, the patriarch was posthumously revealed to have plundered his employees’ pension funds to avoid bankruptcy.
What’s the Point of Trying to Understand Ghislaine Maxwell?|Judy Berman|June 24, 2021|Time
Three members of the Ebrahimi family, whose patriarch made a fortune at the software firm Quark, collectively converted $65 million into Roths in 2010 and 2011.
Lord of the Roths: How Tech Mogul Peter Thiel Turned a Retirement Account for the Middle Class Into a $5 Billion Tax-Free Piggy Bank|by Justin Elliott, Patricia Callahan and James Bandler|June 24, 2021|ProPublica

Hana Alomair’s Whispers, Netflix’s first Saudi thriller, revolves around the death of a patriarch whose secrets spill out days before the launch of his company’s new app.
The Next Ava DuVernays|Sean Culligan|April 25, 2021|Ozy
The talk radio phenom and Fox News staple has identified himself as a longtime listener of the TRN patriarch.
The Godfather of Right-Wing Radio|Caitlin Dickson|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Marston declared that women should rule the world but remained a patriarch.
Wonder Woman’s Creation Story Is Wilder Than You Could Ever Imagine|Tom Arnold-Forster|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The patriarch, Josiah, had fought with the 42nd Wisconsin Infantry, marching all the way to Kentucky to battle the Confederates.
Those Kansas City Blues: A Family History|Katie Baker|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But it was Sean Connery who was the first choice to voice the Disney patriarch with the tragic fate.
‘The Lion King’ Turns 20: Every Crazy, Weird Fact About the Disney Classic|Kevin Fallon|June 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In Moscow, Patriarch Kirill addressed an audience that included Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Blood, Faith and Fatalism in Divided Ukraine|Anna Nemtsova|April 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I had those words in my thoughts four years ago, when I cut him down from the branch of the Patriarch.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
It is thus that I have seen it stated in the credentials granted to the said Fleuche, first Patriarch of those lands.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
The Patriarch went to him, and, with the help of an interpreter, did for him what pertained to his office as a good Pastor.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
They boast of having descended from Abraham through Ishmael, believing that this patriarch built Mecca and died there.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10)|Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
The sufferings of the patriarch Job form the subject of a few of these scriptural illustrations.
The Catacombs of Rome|William Henry Withrow

British Dictionary definitions for patriarch

patriarch

/ (ˈpeɪtrɪˌɑːk) /

noun

the male head of a tribe or familyCompare matriarch (def. 2)

a very old or venerable man

Old Testament any of a number of persons regarded as the fathers of the human race, divided into the antediluvian patriarchs, from Adam to Noah, and the postdiluvian, from Noah to Abraham

Old Testament any of the three ancestors of the Hebrew people: Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob

Old Testament any of Jacob's twelve sons, regarded as the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel

Early Church the bishop of one of several principal sees, esp those of Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria

Eastern Orthodox Church the bishops of the four ancient principal sees of Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem, and also of Russia, Romania, and Serbia, the bishop of Constantinople (the ecumenical Patriarch) being highest in dignity among these

RC Church

a title given to the pope
a title given to a number of bishops, esp of the Uniat Churches, indicating their rank as immediately below that of the pope

Mormon Church another word for Evangelist (def. 2)

Eastern Christianity the head of the Coptic, Armenian, Syrian Jacobite, or Nestorian Churches, and of certain other non-Orthodox Churches in the East

the oldest or most venerable member of a group, community, etcthe patriarch of steam engines

a person regarded as the founder of a community, tradition, etc

Derived forms of patriarch

patriarchal, adjectivepatriarchally, adverb

Word Origin for patriarch

C12: via Old French from Church Latin patriarcha

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

patriarch

Origin of patriarch

OTHER WORDS FROM patriarch

Words nearby patriarch

Words related to patriarch

How to use patriarch in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for patriarch

Derived forms of patriarch

Word Origin for patriarch