patriarch
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Old English patriarcha, from Late Latin patriarcha; later reinforced by Old French patriarche, from Byzantine Greek πατριάρχης (“the founder of the tribe/family”), from Ancient Greek πατριά (patria, “generation, ancestry, descent, tribe, family”) + -αρχης (-arkhēs, “-arch”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
patriarch (plural patriarchs)
- (Christianity) The highest form of bishop, in the ancient world having authority over other bishops in the province but now generally as an honorary title; in Roman Catholicism, considered a bishop second only to the Pope in rank. [from 9th c.]
- In Biblical contexts, a male leader of a family, tribe or ethnic group, especially one of the twelve sons of Jacob (considered to have created the twelve tribes of Israel) or (in plural) Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. [from 13th c.]
- 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Acts II:
- Men and brethren, lett me frely speake unto you of the patriarke David: For he is both deed and buryed, and his sepulcre remayneth with us unto this daye.
- 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Acts II:
- A founder of a political or religious movement, an organization or an enterprise. [from 16th c.]
- An old leader of a village or community.
- 1819, Washington Irving, The Sketch Book, “Rip Van Winkle”:
- The opinions of this junto were completely controlled by Nicholas Vedder, a patriarch of the village, and landlord of the inn, at the door of which he took his seat from morning to night, just moving sufficiently to […] keep in the shade of a large tree; […]
- 1819, Washington Irving, The Sketch Book, “Rip Van Winkle”:
- The male head of a tribal line or family.
Translations[edit]
male leader
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See also[edit]
Dutch[edit]
Noun[edit]
patriarch m (plural patriarchen, diminutive patriarchje n, feminine matriarch)
- patriarch
