Definition of patriarch

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< patri-

patriarchal >

pa·tri·arch    (ptr-ärk) KEY 

NOUN:

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.

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ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English patriarche, from Old French, from Late Latin patriarcha, from Greek patriarkhs : patri, lineage (from patr, patr-, father; see pter- in Indo-European roots) + -arkhs, -arch