patriarchs

Noun

patriarch (plural patriarchs)

1. The highest form of bishop, in the ancient world having authority over other bishops in the province but now generally as an honorary title; in Roman Catholicism, considered a bishop second only to the Pope in rank.
2. A male leader of a family, tribe or ethnic group, especially one of the twelve sons of Jacob (considered to have created the twelve tribes of Israel) or (in plural) Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
   • Men and brethren / lett me frely ſpeake vnto you of the patriarke David: For he is both deed and buryed / and his ſepulcre remayneth with vs vnto this daye.1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts ij:[29], folio clvj, recto
3. A founder of a political or religious movement, an organization or an enterprise.
4. An old leader of a village or community.
   • The opinions of this junto were completely controlled by Nicholas Vedder, a patriarch of the village, and landlord of the inn, at the door of which he took his seat from morning till night, just moving sufficiently to […] keep in the shade of a large tree; […]1819 June 23, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Rip Van Winkle”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number I, New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, page...
5. The male progenitor of a genetic or tribal line, or of a clan or extended family.

   Synonyms:

   ancestor, forebear, forefather

6. The male head of a household or nuclear family.
   • The popular Duck Dynasty television show and Duck Commander products took center stage in a controversy over comments made by Phil Robertson. As patriarch of the family and founder of the company, he stars in the A&E reality show based on his Louisiana life and company.2013 December 22, Gregory Wallace, “Cracker Barrel reverses decision to pull Duck Dynasty products”, in CNN Money, archived from the original on 22 Jul 2024

   Synonyms:

   highfather, paterfamilias

See all 7 meanings of patriarch