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 Latter-day Saint 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

Despite the backaches, headaches, high blood pressure, shortness of breath, sweating and various other physical manifestations from Clarke’s manifestation of the Murdaugh family patriarch, Jason was never going to actually catch up to Alex on the scale. —Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 11 Nov. 2025

The comedy-drama directed by Ma Lin and starring Huang Bo, Fan Chengcheng, Yin Tao and Li Jiaqi, follows a coastal-town family – led by a once-tough patriarch – who rally together in hard times and push for a comeback. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 10 Nov. 2025

Close-quartered and stylish, the movie begins at a Gothic New England mansion where the wealthy patriarch Harlan Thrombey has been found with his throat slit. —Anna Russell, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025

In the opening of this 1957 bargain-bin drive-in picture, a mid-century WASP patriarch in the Man in the Gray Flannel Suit mold (Whit Bissell) plucks the body of a student athlete (Gary Conway) from a flaming bus crash. —Katie Rife, Vulture, 9 Nov. 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