patriarchal

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin patriarchālis (“of or relating to a patriarch”),^[2][3][4][5] used from the 5th century of both Christian and biblical patriarchs,^[2] from patriarcha (“patriarch”) and the suffix -ālis.^[2][4] Etymonline also allows that it was formed in English from patriarch and -al.^[6] The Latin noun comes from Ancient Greek πατριάρχης (patriárkhēs, “chief or head of a family”),^[5][6] from πατριά (patriá, “family, lineage”) and a word for leader, the first part being from πατήρ (patḗr, “father”).^[5][6] The OED compares Spanish patriarcal (1220–50), Italian patriarcale (before 1396) and French patriarcal (1378 or earlier), all first used of church patriarchs.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to a patriarch of the Christian Church, or ruled by one: about 1450, in John Capgrave's Solace of Pilgrims.^[2] Etymonline dates the word to the mid-15th century, in the form patriarchial, used especially of the five great basilicas of Rome;^[6] these are the patriarchal churches of the Shorter Oxford.^[3]

Semantic evolution

From the church sense the word passed to the biblical patriarchs and their times (1606),^[2][3] and to the look or manner of a patriarch: venerable, aged (1645).^[2][6] Johnson (1755) defined it as belonging to patriarchs or such as they enjoyed, quoting John Norris's "patriarchal years".^[7][3] In heraldry the patriarchal cross, with two crossbars, the upper shorter, is recorded from 1682; it is the emblem of the patriarchs of the Orthodox Church.^[2][3] From 1706, in Defoe, the word described a patriarchy or a male head of a family or tribe,^[2] and later, from 1806, a very old animal or plant.^[2] The modern social sense, of a society or culture in which men hold authority and its values favour men, is recorded from 1970.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1450 – of or relating to a church patriarch.^[2][6]
• 1606 – of the biblical patriarchs or their times.^[2]
• 1645 – like a patriarch; venerable, aged.^[2][6]
• 1682 – in heraldry, patriarchal cross.^[2]
• 1706 – of a patriarchy; of a male head of a family or tribe.^[2]
• 1806 – of an animal or plant, very old.^[2]
• 1970 – of a society in which men hold authority.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or relating to a patriarchy; of a society or system in which men hold power: The novel attacks the patriarchal values of the village.^[8][9][2]
2. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a patriarch, or ruled by one: the patriarchal see.^[8][4][2]
3. Like a patriarch; venerable.^[4][2]
4. Of or relating to the biblical patriarchs or their times.^[2][3]
5. patriarchal cross: a cross with two crossbars, the upper one shorter.^[2][3]

Word family

• patriarchalism
• patriarchally
• antipatriarchal
• unpatriarchal
• patriarchal cross

Related words

• pater
• patriarch
• patriarchate
• patriarchy
• patristic
• patristics
• matriarchal
• paternal
• father

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster