different between patriarch vs patriarchal

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin patriarcha; later reinforced by Old French patriarche, from Byzantine Greek ?????????? (patriárkh?s, “the founder of the tribe/family”), from Ancient Greek ?????? (patriá, “generation, ancestry, descent, tribe, family”) + -?????? (-árkh?s, “-arch”), with some senses likely influenced directly by Latin p?ter (“father”) or Ancient Greek ????? (pat?r, “father”). Compare matriarch. Surface analysis patri- +? -arch.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?pe?t????k/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?pe?t(?)?i??k/

Noun

patriarch (plural patriarchs)

1. (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.]
2. 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.

3. A founder of a political or religious movement, an organization or an enterprise. [from 16th c.]
4. 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; […]

5. The male progenitor of a genetic or tribal line, or of a clan or extended family.

   Synonyms: ancestor, forebear, forefather

6. The male head of a household or nuclear family.

   Synonyms: highfather, paterfamilias

Antonyms

• matriarch, materfamilias

Translations

Dutch

Pronunciation

Noun

patriarch m (plural patriarchen, diminutive patriarchje n, feminine matriarch)

1. patriarch

Related terms

English

Alternative forms

• patriarchial

Etymology

patriarch +? -al

Adjective

patriarchal (comparative more patriarchal, superlative most patriarchal)

1. Characteristic of a patriarch; venerable.
   • 1855, Alfred Tennyson, Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington

     About whose patriarchal knee / Late the little children clung.

2. Relating to a system run by males, rather than females.

Synonyms

• patriarchial
• patriarchic

Coordinate terms

• matriarchal

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations