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

The house is haunted by a family of farmers that lived and died on the land, murdered horribly by the patriarch of the family, but really, the problem is the demon that controls the mirror and its dark reflections. —Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025

The patriarch wanted to consolidate control with Lachlan and cut out his other children — a both shockingly personal and overtly political maneuver. —Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025

The settlement ends an extended family battle, which took place largely behind closed doors in Nevada, and Lachlan and the family patriarch, Rupert Murdoch, sought to secure control of the powerful media companies that were effectively owned by the family trust. —Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2025

Isaiah Nacua The second-oldest Nacua brother, Isaiah, played football at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas before graduating from Timpview High School in Provo, Utah, where the family moved back to after patriarch Lionel died in 2012, per Deseret News. —Emily Krauser, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 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

Rhymes for patriarch

• disembark
• matriarch
• meadowlark
• watermark
• arc
• ark
• bark
• barque
• dark
• hark
• lark
• marc

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