patriarch
patriarch Lexical Profile
patriarch Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The male head of a family, household, or tribe.
"As the family patriarch, he presided over every major holiday gathering at the ancestral estate."
The highest-ranking bishop in the Eastern Orthodox Churches or certain Eastern Catholic and Oriental Orthodox Churches, or one of the most senior bishops in the Roman Catholic Church.
"The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople serves as the spiritual leader for millions of Orthodox Christians worldwide."
Any of the biblical figures regarded as the fathers of the human race or of the Hebrew people, especially Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, together with their forefathers and the sons of Jacob.
"Biblical scholars study the narratives of the ancient patriarchs in the Book of Genesis."
An older man who is powerful and respected within an organization, discipline, or community, or the revered founder of an order or movement.
"He was widely celebrated as the founding patriarch of modern quantum physics."
• Rhymes for patriarch
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Old French patriarche, via Late Latin patriarcha from Ancient Greek patriarches ('ruling father, chief of a family or tribe'), formed from pater ('father') and arkhos ('leader, ruler').