hierarchy English · revision 39651

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1380, English Wycliffite Sermons|origins=grc ἱεράρχης}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈhaɪ.ə.ɹɑː(ɹ).ki/, /ˈhaɪ.ɹɑː(ɹ).ki/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|ierarchie]], [[m|enm|gerarchie]],^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|ierarchie]], [[m|fro|jerarchie]] (modern [[m|fr|hiérarchie]]),^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la-med|hierarchia]],^(MWU 2024)^(AHD 2024)^(SOED 2002) also written [[m|la-med|ierarchia]],^(OED 2026)^(Dictionary.com 2016) from [[grc|ἱεραρχία|tr=hierarkhía|t=the rule of a high priest]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)^(Ayto 2005) from [[m|grc|ἱεράρχης|tr=hierárkhēs|t=high priest, steward of sacred rites]],^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) a compound of [[m|grc|ἱερός|tr=hierós|t=sacred, holy]] and [[m|grc|-άρχης|tr=-árkhēs|t=ruling, ruler]].^(Hoad 1986)^(Ayto 2005)^(MW Word Histories) The OED explains that the initial Greek ''i-'' was treated as a consonant in Late Latin, which gave the ''j-'' and ''g-'' of the Romance and Middle English forms;^(OED 2026) Hoad and the Shorter Oxford note that these were replaced by Latinized forms with ''h-'' in the 16th century,^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) and Barnhart finds the ''h-'' before 1450.^(Barnhart 1988) Merriam-Webster compares other names of forms of government made in the same way, such as [[monarchy]], [[oligarchy]] and [[anarchy]].^(MW Word Histories)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Each of the three divisions of angels in the system of Dionysius the Areopagite, every one made up of three orders; also, the angels as a whole: c. 1380, in the ''English Wycliffite Sermons''.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) Etymonline also dates the word to the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Merriam-Webster traces how the sense moved down from the angels to the priesthood and then to secular government, to the ranking of people by ability or by social and economic standing, and finally to any ordered series of objects or values.^(MW Word Histories) The general sense "rule, dominion" appears as early as 1390, in Gower, but soon became obsolete.^(OED 2026) Priestly rule, or a system of church government, is recorded from 1563, in Foxe's ''Actes and Monuments'',^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986) and the body of clergy ranked in grades from 1620.^(OED 2026)^(Ayto 2005) The sense of any group of persons or things ranked one above another, including the classifications of natural science and logic, is first recorded in Milton's ''Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce'' (1644).^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline dates the sense "ranked organization of persons or things" to the 1610s, first of the clergy,^(Etymonline) and both Etymonline and Barnhart suggest it was helped by a popular association with the unrelated [[higher]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Johnson (1755) defined it as a sacred government, a rank or subordination of holy beings.^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1380 – each of the three divisions of angels.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1390 – rule or dominion in general (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1398 – of other beings ranked in orders, in John Trevisa.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1563 – priestly rule; a system of church government.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1620 – the body of clergy ranked in grades.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1644 – any body of persons or things ranked one above another.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A system in which people or groups are ranked one above another according to [[status]] or [[authority]]: ''She rose quickly through the company's hierarchy.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # The people at the top of such a system, who hold authority within an organization.^(MWU 2024)

+ # Any arrangement of things in a graded series or order, such as the [[classification]] of plants and animals into classes, orders and families.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # The body of [[clergy]] organized in graded ranks; church government by such a body.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (theology) Each of the three divisions of [[angel|alt=angels]] in the traditional ranking of heavenly beings; the angels as a whole.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+ # (linguistics, mathematics) A formal structure, usually drawn as a diagram of connected nodes, with a single top node.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[antihierarchy]]

+ * [[hierarchism]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hierarch]]

+ * [[hierarchical]]

+ * [[hierarchize]]

+ * [[thearchy]]

+ * [[hieroglyph]]

+ * [[hieratic]]

+ * [[monarchy]]

+ * [[oligarchy]]

+ * [[anarchy]]

+ * [[archbishop]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}