patrician English · revision 1493

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1425}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pəˈtɹɪʃən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|patricion]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) [[bor|frm|patricien]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|patricius|t=of the rank of the senators; noble]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from [[m|la|patrēs|t=senators, fathers]], plural of [[m|la|pater|t=father]] (see [[father]]),^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) and the suffix [[-an]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) Latin ''patrēs'' was short for [[m|la|patrēs cōnscrīptī|t=enrolled fathers]], the usual title of the Roman senate.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A member of the ancient Roman noble order, or in the later Roman Empire a member of a noble order created by the emperor (probably before 1425 in Barnhart; 1432–50 in the OED; early 15th century in Etymonline).^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In ancient Rome the patricians were reputed descendants of the original citizen families,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) contrasted with the ''plebeians'',^(Etymonline)^(Weekley 1921)^(Collins 2023) and until about 350 BC they alone could hold offices such as senator and consul.^(MWU 2024)^(AHD) Constantine and his successors at Byzantium conferred the title as a dignity.^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024) From 1611 it was applied to the hereditary noble citizens of medieval Italian republics such as Venice and Genoa, and of German free cities,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023) and since 1631 to any person of noble birth or rank.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) The adjective, “noble, aristocratic”, dates from 1615,^(Barnhart 1995) and today the word also describes a person of refined upbringing and taste.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1425 – a Roman noble.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1533 – a member of the original Roman citizen families.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1611 – a noble of a medieval Italian republic.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1615 – adjective, noble, aristocratic.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1631 – any person of noble rank.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A member of an [[aristocracy]]; an [[aristocrat]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person of refined upbringing, manners and tastes.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # ''(history)'' A member of one of the noble families of the ancient Roman Republic, which at first alone had the right to sit in the [[senate]] and hold the magistracies.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(history)'' A title of honorary nobility conferred by the later Roman and Byzantine emperors.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(history)'' A member of the hereditary ruling class in the medieval free cities of Italy and Germany.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of noble birth or high social rank; [[aristocratic]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # Befitting or characteristic of a person of high birth or refinement.^(RHWU)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[patricianly]]

+ * [[unpatrician]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[father]]

+ * [[patriarch]]

+ * [[Patricia]]

+ * [[patron]]

+ * [[pattern]]

+ * [[paternal]]

+ * [[Patrick]]

+ * [[plebeian]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}