Other forms: patriarchs
A patriarch is the old man at the head of a family or tribe. The family patriarch, an ageing patriarch, patriarch of the clan.
The word carries authority and age together, and it is often used with a touch of irony now. In several churches a Patriarch is a bishop of the highest rank. Patriarchy names a social system where men hold the power, and the political sense has largely overtaken the family one. Note that the Greek means ruler of a family.
1nounpatriarchThe old man at the head of a family or tribe.
“The family patriarch sat at the head of the table and carved the meat.”
2nounbishopA bishop of the highest rank.
“The patriarch of the Orthodox Church led the Easter service in the cathedral.”
patriarch is a head of a family or church.
Greek patriarches is patria, a family line, plus archein, to rule. Father and monarch come from the two halves.
Proto-Indo-European
*peh₂-
Ancient Greek
πατριάρχης — the founder of the tribe/family
Old French
patriarche
Latin
patriarcha
Middle English
patriark
English, today
patriarch
Built from
From Middle English patriark, patriarche, from Latin patriarcha; later reinforced by Old French patriarche, from Ancient Greek πατριάρχης (“the founder of the tribe/family”), from Ancient Greek πατριά (“generation, ancestry, descent, tribe, family”) + -ᾰ́ρχης (“-arch”), with some senses likely influenced directly by Latin pāter (“father”) or Ancient Greek πᾰτήρ (“father”). Compare matriarch. by surface analysis, patri- + -arch.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Family & People