patrician

[ puh-trish-uhn ]

/ pəˈtrɪʃ ən /

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See synonyms for: patrician / patricians on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person of noble or high rank; aristocrat.

a person of very good background, education, and refinement.

a member of the original senatorial aristocracy in ancient Rome.

(under the later Roman and Byzantine empires) a title or dignity conferred by the emperor.

a member of a hereditary ruling class in certain medieval German, Swiss, and Italian free cities.

adjective

of high social rank or noble family; aristocratic.

befitting or characteristic of persons of very good background, education, and refinement: patrician tastes.

of or belonging to the patrician families of ancient Rome.

OTHER WORDS FOR patrician

7 dignified, genteel, stately.

See synonyms for patrician on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of patrician

First recorded in 1400–50; from Latin patrīci(us) “having the rank of patrician, noble,” (equivalent to patr-, stem of pater “father” + -īcius adjective suffix) + -an; replacing late Middle English patricion, from Old French patricien; see origin at patr-, -itious, -an

OTHER WORDS FROM patrician

pa·tri·cian·hood, pa·tri·cian·ship, nounpa·tri·cian·ism, nounpa·tri·cian·ly, adverbpre·pa·tri·cian, adjective

un·pa·tri·cian, adjective

Words nearby patrician

patriarchate, patriarchs, patriarchy, patriate, Patricia, patrician, patriciate, patricide, Patrick, Patrick, Saint, patriclinous

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

How to use patrician in a sentence

Hopkins was “a bit of a bad boy” when he was starting out — he recently celebrated his 45th year of sobriety — but despite his own volcanic energy and humor, he has often been cast as the butler or the buttoned-up patrician.
Anthony Hopkins is welcoming old age by embracing his inner child|Tim Greiving|February 25, 2021|Washington Post
Yet there was another side to this cool, handsome patrician, and it set him apart from his fellow executives in the Motor City.
The Stacks: Robin Williams, More Than A Shtick Figure|Joe Morgenstern|August 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the editor appreciated patrician breeding, so the kid came to work.
The Stacks: John Schulian’s Classic Profile of Newspaper Columnist Mike Royko|John Schulian|January 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One of those votes belonged to Justice Lewis Powell, a well-heeled, patrician justice from Virginia appointed by Richard Nixon.
The Sodomy Case That May Sway Justice Kennedy’s Same-Sex Marriage Vote|Adam Winkler|March 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST

In one corner: the patrician, privileged, well-mannered 35-year-old Quayle.
Ben Quayle’s Election Fight Gets Ugly|Terry Greene Sterling|August 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He could be unbearably glib, but his patrician persona and acid tongue, his radiating sense of superiority, made for good showbiz.
Becoming Gore Vidal: The Henry Adams of Our Age|Morris Dickstein|August 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Andrea held up her hand to appease the patrician, whose exaggeration annulled his superiority.
Balsamo, The Magician|Alexander Dumas
"I want you to whip this malapert with your sword-scabbard," roared the old patrician, pale with anger.
Balsamo, The Magician|Alexander Dumas
However, the six oarsmen of the patrician craft were rapidly diminishing the distance.
The Seven Cardinal Sins: Envy and Indolence|Eugne Sue
During this period there was little to choose between the fare of the proudest patrician and the humblest client.
The Private Life of the Romans|Harold Whetstone Johnston
For the first eleven years after the passage of the Licinian Laws one consul was a plebeian and one a patrician.
The Two Great Republics: Rome and the United States|James Hamilton Lewis

British Dictionary definitions for patrician

patrician

/ (pəˈtrɪʃən) /

noun

a member of the hereditary aristocracy of ancient Rome. In the early republic the patricians held almost all the higher officesCompare plebs (def. 2)

a high nonhereditary title awarded by Constantine and his eastern Roman successors for services to the empire

(in medieval Europe)

a title borne by numerous princes including several emperors from the 8th to the 12th centuries
a member of the upper class in numerous Italian republics and German free cities

an aristocrat

a person of refined conduct, tastes, etc

adjective

(esp in ancient Rome) of, relating to, or composed of patricians

aristocratic

oligarchic and often antidemocratic or nonpopularpatrician political views

Word Origin for patrician

C15: from Old French patricien, from Latin patricius noble, from pater father

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

patrician

OTHER WORDS FOR patrician

Origin of patrician

OTHER WORDS FROM patrician

Words nearby patrician

Words related to patrician

How to use patrician in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for patrician

Word Origin for patrician