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patriarchs

 - 4 dictionary results

pa⋅tri⋅arch

  [pey-tree-ahrk]
Use patriarchs in a Sentence
–noun
1. the male head of a family or tribal line.
2. a person regarded as the father or founder of an order, class, etc.
3. 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.
4. any of the three great progenitors of the Israelites: Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob.
5. any of the sons of Jacob (the twelve patriarchs), from whom the tribes of Israel were descended.
6. (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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Roman Catholic Church.
a. the pope as patriarch of the West.
b. any of certain bishops of the Eastern rites, as a head of an Eastern rite or a bishop of one of the ancient sees.
c. the head of a Uniate church.
10. Mormon Church. any of the high dignitaries who pronounce the blessing of the church; Evangelist.
11. one of the elders or leading older members of a community.
12. a venerable old man.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME patriark(e) (< OF) < LL patriarcha < LGk patriárchēs high-ranking bishop, Gk: family head equiv. to patri(á) family, deriv. of patr father + -archēs -arch

Related forms:
pa⋅tri⋅ar⋅chal, pa⋅tri⋅ar⋅chic, pa⋅tri⋅ar⋅chi⋅cal, adjective
pa⋅tri⋅ar⋅chal⋅ly, pa⋅tri⋅ar⋅chi⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
pa⋅tri⋅arch⋅dom, pa⋅tri⋅arch⋅ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pa·tri·arch   (pā'trē-ärk')   
n.  

  1. A man who rules a family, clan, or tribe.

  2. Bible

    1. One of the antediluvian progenitors of the human race, from Adam to Noah.

    2. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or any of Jacob's 12 sons, the eponymous progenitors of the 12 tribes of Israel.

  3. Used formerly as a title for the bishops of Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria.

  4. Roman Catholic Church A bishop who holds the highest episcopal rank after the pope.

  5. Eastern Orthodox Church Any one of the bishops of the sees of Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, Moscow, and Jerusalem who has authority over other bishops.

  6. Judaism The head of the Sanhedrin in Syrian Palestine from about 180 B.C. to A.D. 429.

  7. Mormon Church A high dignitary of the priesthood empowered to invoke blessings.

  8. One who is regarded as the founder or original head of an enterprise, organization, or tradition.

  9. A very old, venerable man; an elder.

  10. The oldest member of a group: the patriarch of the herd.


[Middle English patriarche, from Old French, from Late Latin patriarcha, from Greek patriarkhēs : patriā, lineage (from patēr, patr-, father; see pəter- in Indo-European roots) + -arkhēs, -arch.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

patriarchs

In the Old Testament, the “founding fathers” of the Israelites: Abraham and Isaac, Jacob, and the sons of Jacob. (See Joseph and his brothers.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

patriarch 
c.1175, from O.Fr. patriarche "one of the Old Testament fathers" (11c.), from L.L. patriarcha (Tertullian), from Gk. patriarches "chief or head of a family," from patria "family, clan," from pater "father" + archein "to rule." Also used as an honorific title of certain bishops in the early Church, notably those of Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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