tetrarch
Americannoun
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any ruler of a fourth part, division, etc.
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a subordinate ruler.
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one of four joint rulers or chiefs.
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the ruler of the fourth part of a country or province in the ancient Roman Empire.
noun
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the ruler of one fourth of a country
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a subordinate ruler, esp of Syria under the Roman Empire
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the commander of one of the smaller subdivisions of a Macedonian phalanx
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any of four joint rulers
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tetrarch
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, tetrarcha, tetrarke, from Late Latin tetrarcha, variant of Latin tetrarchēs, from Greek tetrárchēs; see tetr-, -arch
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.
While there was no formal geographic division of leadership, each emperor or tetrarch had his own sphere of influence.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
The husky-voiced German tenor Gerhard A. Siegel was almost endearing as Herod, the tetrarch of Judea, Herodias’s husband, who is nearly undone by his yearning for his stepdaughter.
From New York Times ● Mar. 2, 2014
Con O'Neill as the roaring, bisexual tetrarch is not afraid to out-Herod Herod.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 24, 2010
Her husband told her that the tetrarch is seeking him; he thinks him John, and would do him harm.
From Mary Magdalen by Edgar Saltus
A tetrarch is he who has a fourth part of a kingdom.
From The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church Containing the Sermones Catholici, or Homilies of ?lfric, in the Original Anglo-Saxon, with an English Version. Volume I. by Abbot of Eynsham Aelfric
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
