different between patriarch vs prothonotary

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

• protonotary

Etymology

Middle English prothonotarie, from Medieval Latin protonotarius, from Byzantine Greek ????????????? (pr?tonotários), from Ancient Greek ?????? (prôtos) + Byzantine Greek ???????? (notários), from Latin not?rius (“notary”).

Noun

prothonotary (plural prothonotaries)

1. (obsolete, historical) A chief legal clerk or notary in Roman Byzantium, and (hence) in Rome. [15th–19th c.]
2. (Roman Catholicism) One of the seven prelates, constituting a college in the Roman Curia, whose office is to register pontifical acts and to make and preserve the official record of beatifications. [from 15th c.]
3. A registrar or chief clerk in various courts of law, especially (US) in a county court, (Australia) in certain state Supreme Courts. [from 17th c.]
   • 1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 231:

     I accordingly did direct him how to enter an appearance with the prothonotary and to obtain a copy of the plaint or declaration.
4. (Greek Orthodox Church, historical) The chief secretary of the patriarch of Constantinople. [from 18th c.]

Derived terms

• prothonotary warbler