patriarch

noun

pa·​tri·​arch ˈpā-trē-ˌärk 

1

a

: one of the scriptural fathers of the human race or of the Hebrew people

Abraham was a patriarch of the Israelites.

b

: a man who is father or founder

The newspaper patriarch celebrated his 90th birthday.

c(1)

: the oldest member or representative of a group

the cypress … is the patriarch of native trees, going back to the time of the dinosaur

—Amer. Guide Series: Texas

(2)

: a venerable old man

a whiskered patriarch, spry for his age

—Frank Sullivan

d

: a man who is head of a patriarchy

2

a

: any of the bishops of the ancient or Eastern Orthodox sees of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem or the ancient and Western see of Rome with authority over other bishops

b

: the head of any of various Eastern churches

c

: a Roman Catholic bishop next in rank to the pope with purely titular or with metropolitan (see metropolitan entry 2 sense 1) jurisdiction

3

: a Mormon of the Melchizedek priesthood empowered to perform the ordinances of the church and pronounce blessings within a stake or prescribed jurisdiction

Examples of patriarch in a Sentence

Our grandfather was the family's patriarch.

The tribe's patriarch ruled for 20 years before his death.

Recent Examples on the Web

After the patriarch died, Kelly continued the legacy of the Southern Gospel group. —Charna Flam, People.com, 3 Feb. 2025

That would amount to a massive windfall, even inside the Trump family, where the patriarch has refused to hand off significant chunks of his assets for years, leaving his heirs with less than $100 million apiece. —Dan Alexander, Forbes, 1 Feb. 2025

Sanford as Louise Jefferson, along with Mike Evans as their son Lionel, had been semi-regulars since 1971, but Hemsley, whom Lear wanted as the family patriarch, wasn’t available until 1973. —Jim McKairnes, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2025

Lavar Ball, the patriarch of the family, is a blustering boxing promoter of a personality, and brothers LaMelo and Lonzo Ball are successful NBA players who will be in the public consciousness for the foreseeable future. —Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 14 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English patriarche, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin patriarcha, from Greek patriarchēs, from patria lineage (from patr-, patēr father) + -archēs -arch — more at father

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing patriarch

• ecumenical patriarch

Kids Definition

patriarch

noun

pa·​tri·​arch ˈpā-trē-ˌärk 

1

a

: one of the Old Testament fathers of the human race or of the Hebrew people

b

: the father and ruler of a family or tribe

c

: an old man deserving respect

2

: any of various bishops of highest rank and dignity

patriarchal

ˌpā-trē-ˈär-kəl

adjective