PATRIARCH

Patriarch

Originally, a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is termed patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά, "lineage, progeny", esp. by the father's side and meaning "leader", "chief", "ruler", "king", etc.

The above text is a snippet from Wikipedia: Patriarch
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

patriarch

Noun

  1. 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.
  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.
  3. A founder of a political or religious movement, an organization or an enterprise.
  4. An old leader of a village or community.
  5. The male head of a tribal line or family.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: patriarch
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

Need help with a clue?
Try your search in the crossword dictionary!