Definition of patriarch Patriarch

/pejˈtɹiɑˌɹk/ - [peytreeark] - pa•tri•arch

We found 15 definitions of patriarch from 7 different sources.

What does patriarch mean?

Noun Plural: patriarches
patriarch - any of the early biblical characters regarded as fathers of the human race
		forefather, sire, father the founder of a family; "keep the faith of our forefathers"
		antediluvian patriarch, antediluvian any of the early patriarchs who lived prior to the Noachian deluge
		jacob (Old Testament) son of Isaac; brother of Esau; father of the twelve patriarchs of Israel; Jacob wrestled with God and forced God to bless him, so God gave Jacob the new name of Israel (meaning `one who has been strong against God')
		simeon (Old Testament) the 2nd son of Jacob and one of the 12 patriarchs of Israel
patriarch - the male head of family or tribe
		paterfamilias
		adult male, man game equipment consisting of an object used in playing certain board games; "he taught me to set up the men on the chess board"; "he sacrificed a piece to get a strategic advantage"
		head of household the head of a household or family or tribe
patriarch - title for the heads of the Eastern Orthodox Churches (in Istanbul and Alexandria and Moscow and Jerusalem)
		spiritual leader a leader in religious or sacred affairs
patriarch - a man who is older and higher in rank than yourself
		graybeard, greybeard, methuselah, old man an informal term for your father

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patriarch (Noun)
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.
patriarch (Noun)
A founder of a political or religious movement, an organization or an enterprise.
patriarch (Noun)
An old leader of a village or community.
patriarch (Noun)
The male head of a tribal line or family.

patriarch (n.)
The father and ruler of a family; one who governs his family or descendants by paternal right; -- usually applied to heads of families in ancient history, especially in Biblical and Jewish history to those who lived before the time of Moses.
patriarch (n.)
A dignitary superior to the order of archbishops; as, the patriarch of Constantinople, of Alexandria, or of Antioch.
patriarch (n.)
A venerable old man; an elder. Also used figuratively.

patriarch
pā′tri-ärk, n. one who governs his family by paternal right: (B.) one of the early heads of families from Adam downwards to Abraham, Jacob, and his sons: in Eastern churches, a dignitary superior to an archbishop.—adjs. Patriarch′al, Patriarch′ic, belonging or subject to a patriarch: like a patriarch: of the nature of a patriarch.—ns. Pā′triarchalism, the condition of tribal government by a patriarch; Pā′triarchate, the office or jurisdiction of a patriarch or church dignitary: the residence of a patriarch; Pā′triarchism, government by a patriarch; Pā′triarchy, a community of related families under the authority of a patriarch. [O. Fr.,—L.,—Gr. patriarchēs—patēr, father, archē, beginning.]

A Patriarch was the head of an extended family, originally.

Today, the word is mostly taken to have a meaning within Christianity. There, the word is used to refer to the highest-ranking Bishops of the respective churches, that is the Oriental Orthodox Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East