patriarchal
Pronunciation
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
- 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]
- Of, relating to, or characteristic of a patriarch, or ruled by one: the patriarchal see.[8][4][2]
- Like a patriarch; venerable.[4][2]
- Of or relating to the biblical patriarchs or their times.[2][3]
- patriarchal cross: a cross with two crossbars, the upper one shorter.[2][3]
Word family
- patriarchalism
- patriarchally
- antipatriarchal
- unpatriarchal
- patriarchal cross
Related words
References
- ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
- ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
- ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster