patriarch, n.
(ˈpeɪtrɪɑːk)
Also 3–4 -arc, 3–7 -ark, (4 -ak, -eke), 4–6 -arche, 4–7 -arke, -arck(e; 4–6 patry-.
[ME. a. OF. patriarche (11th c. in Littré), ad. L. patriarcha (Tertull.), ad. Gr. πατριάρχης chief or head of a family, f. πατριά family, clan + -αρχης in comb. ‘ruler’.]
1. The father and ruler of a family or tribe; spec. (pl.) in N.T., and uses thence derived, the twelve sons of Jacob, from whom the tribes of Israel were descended; also, the fathers of the race, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their forefathers. antediluvian patriarchs, the line extending from Adam to Noah.
In the Septuagint πατριάρχης is applied to a head of a family or division of a tribe of Israel (2 Chron. xix. 8, xxvi. 12; cf. 1 Chron. ix. 9 ἄρχοντες πατριῶν, v.r. πατριάρχαι), also to the heads of the tribes themselves (πατριάρχαι τῶν ϕυλῶν Ἰσραήλ, 1 Chron. xxvii. 22); in the Jewish Book ‘The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs’, of 2nd c. b.c., as by St. Stephen in Acts vii. 9, to the twelve sons of Jacob; in 4 Macc. vii. 19 (cf. xvi. 25), to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In Acts ii. 29, applied to King David; but rarely to any one later than the ‘Twelve Patriarchs’.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 81 Þes patriarches, alse abel and noe and abraham. Ibid. 153 He sende his patriarken & propheten for to bodien his tokume. c 1200 Ormin 7680, & Asær wass, þatt witt tu wel, An off þe Patriarrkess. c 1290 Becket 2301 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 172 Of Aungles and of patriarks [v.r. -arcs] and of apostles al-so. a 1300 Cursor M. 9047 (Cott.) Þe patriarches [v. rr. patriarkes, -is] þai com wit-al Be-for þair fete he let him fal. 1382 Wyclif Acts ii. 29 To seye to ȝou of the patriark Dauith. Ibid. vii. 9, 10 Ysaac gendride Iacob, and Iacob the twelue patriarkis. And the patriarkis hauynge enuye to Ioseph, solden hym into Egipt. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 221 Adam deide and was i-buried in Ebron, þat is i-cleped also Cariatharbe,..þe cite of foure, þat beþ patriarkes þat beeþ i-buried þere, þat beþ Adam, Abraham, Ysaac, and Iacob. a 1529 Skelton Ph. Sparowe 256 Noe the patryarke, That made that great arke. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 376 So spake the Patriarch of Man⁓kinde, but Eve..though last, repli'd. 1727 De Foe Syst. Magic i. i. (1840) 8 Such a degree as was ordinary to the patriarchs of the antediluvian age. 1852 Longfellow Jew. Cemetery at Newport 50 In the background figures vague and vast Of patriarchs and of prophets rose sublime. |
b. By extension, One occupying a similar position in the history of any race.
| 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 78 That God created other men to be the patriarchs of the Europeans, Africans, and Americans. |
2. In later Jewish history, applied (as repr. Heb. nāsī prince, chief) to the Chief or President of the Sanhedrim in Palestine, established under Syrian rule c 180 b.c., and ending with the death of the last of the Gamaliels a.d. 429. Sometimes incorrectly applied to the Exilarch or Head of the Jewish college in Babylon.
Both the Patriarch or Prince in Palestine and the Head of the college in Babylon had to be of Davidic descent. (H. Gollancz.)
| 1795 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XIV. 37/1 Jewish Patriarch, a dignity. [The article is erroneous.] 1880 Smith's Dict. Chr. Antiq. II. 1573/2. 1885 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 9) XVIII. 410/2 The head of the synagogue at Babylon appears also to have been known as patriarch until 1038. |
3. Eccl. a. In reference to the primitive Church, before the rupture of East and West: In earliest use, a rhetorical or honorific designation of bishops generally, which became at length the official title of the bishops of the great sees of Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome, also (from the 4th c.) of Constantinople, and (from 5th c.) of Jerusalem. b. Hence, in the Orthodox Eastern Ch., The title of the bishops of the four patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, the Patriarch of Constantinople being the Head of the Church or Ecumenical Patriarch. Also the title of the heads of the other Eastern Churches, as the Abyssinian, Armenian, Jacobite, and Coptic. c. In the R.C. Ch., A bishop second only to the Pope in episcopal, and to the Pope and Cardinals in hierarchical rank, and next above primates and metropolitans. The title of the Latin bishops of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem; also, of those of the three minor patriarchates, the Indies, Lisbon, and Venice.
For various other ancient or mediæval uses of the term (in its Greek or Latin form, whence occasionally in historical use in Eng.) see Dict. Chr. Antiq. II. s.v. ‘It was sometimes given to any metropolitan who had other metropolitans under him’ (cf. b. below). ‘It was adopted as the designation of their chief bishop by the Vandals’; also under the Lombard kings of Italy as the title of the bishop of Aquileia, whose patriarchate was subsequently transferred to Grado, and is now represented by that of Venice.
| 1297 R. Glouc. Chron. (Rolls) 9869 Þe king of ierusalem sir guy was þer inome, & þe patriarc aslawe, & þe cristine ouercome. c 1300 Havelok 428 Haue he þe malisun to-day Of alle þat eure speken may! Of patriark, and of pope! c 1386 Chaucer Pard. Prol. 15 Bulles of popes and of Cardynales Of Patriarkes & bishoppes I shewe. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) iii. 18 Here Patriark hath as meche power ouer the See, as the Pope hath on this Syde the See. c 1449 Pecock Repr. (Rolls) II. 416 Aboue alle patriarkis is oon pope for to reule and amende the gouernauncis of patriarkis. 1517 R. Torkington Pilgr. (1884) 12 The Duke..with all the Senyorye..rowed in to the see, with the assistens of ther Patriarche, And ther Spoused the see with a ryng. 1547 Boorde Introd. Knowl. i. (1870) 119 There was a patriarke of Ierusalem, ther is a patryarke at Constantinople, & there is a patryarke at Venis. 1698 A. Brand Emb. Muscovy to China 5 Russia has its own Patriarch, who exercises the same Authority.., as the Pope does in..Roman Catholick Countries. 1710 Whitworth Acc. Russia (1758) 47 The present Czar, on the death of the late Patriarch, sequestered the office. 1847 Mrs. A. Kerr tr. Ranke's Hist. Servia 36 These events determined the Porte not to suffer the election of another Servian Patriarch. 1850 Neale East. Ch. I. 126 In correctness of speech, we are assured by Theodore Balsamon, the Patriarch of Antioch is the only Prelate who has a claim to that title: the proper appellation of the Bishops of Rome and Alexandria being Pope, of Constantinople and Jerusalem, Archbishop. 1885 Catholic Dict. (ed. 3) s.v., The Sixth Canon of the first Nicene Council recognises an ancient, customary, and legitimate authority in the Bishops of the three sees of Alexandria, Rome, and Antioch (named in this order) over their respective provinces. The title of ‘Patriarch’, however, is not given; the thing is recognised, but not the word. The title came into use in the fifth century. Ibid., Since the..Greek schism, &c. severed all these four sees from Catholic unity, the Popes have continued to nominate bishops to the lost Patriarchates; but these bishops have resided at Rome, except lately in the case of Jerusalem, the Patriarch of which..commenced to reside at his see in 1847. Besides the Latin Patriarch of Antioch, the Holy See admits a Maronite, a Melchite, and a Syrian Patriarch of the same see, a Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenian, and a Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldaic, rite. |
d. transf. Applied unofficially to the chief dignitaries of other Churches; † formerly also to the heads of other religious systems (obs.).
| 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 99 The patryarkes & prelates that were for that tyme cam and sayd to hym God hath yeue to the [Alexander] lordship upon many royames. 1563 Winȝet Four Scoir Thre Quest. To Chr. Rdr., Wks. 1888 I. 56 Deliuerit thame..to Iohne Knox, as to him, quha wes haldin in tha partis principal Patriark of the Caluiniane Court. 1600 J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa viii. 301 A certaine craftie Mahumetan patriarke made the rude people beleeve, that [etc.]. 1637 Heylin Brief Answ. 64 The learned workes..of Dr. Adrian Saravia against your Patriarke Theodore Beza. a 1670 Hacket Abp. Williams i. 187 The Lord Keeper's Letter sent to that Worthy Patriarch of the North [Abp. Toby Matthew]. 1733 Neal Hist. Purit. II. 156 He [Laud] was ambitious of being the Sovereign Patriarch of three Kingdoms. |
4. One who is regarded as the father or founder of an order, institution, or tradition, or (by extension) of a science, school of thought, or the like.
| 1566 Pasquine in Traunce 56 b, Among these Patriarches are accompted..Saint Dominicke, who instituted the order of preaching... Why are they called Patriarches?.. Bycause they are the chiefe of the Fathers,..that is to say of the Friers who call themselues Fathers. 1622 W. M. (title) The Life of the Holy Patriarch S. Ignatius of Loyola. a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) I. 135 The Turk's Patriarch Mahomet Was the first great Reformer. 1756–7 tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) III. 2 St. Benedict, the patriarch of the monks among the western Christians. 1758 H. Walpole Catal. Roy. Authors (1759) I. 162 He was the Patriarch of a race of genius and wit. 1855 Kingsley Westw. Ho! xxx, For John Hawkins, Admiral of the port, is the Patriarch of Plymouth seamen, if Drake be their hero. 1866 Crump Banking viii. 158 The patriarch of political economy, Adam Smith. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus xxi. 1 Sire and prince-patriarch of hungry starvelings. |
5. A venerable old man; esp. the oldest man, the ‘father’ of a village or neighbourhood; the veteran or oldest living representative of a class, profession, art, or the like.
| c 1817 Hogg Tales & Sk. (1837) I. 310, I was rather viewed as their chief, next at least to the patriarch. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk., Rip Van Winkle, He..was reverenced as one of the patriarchs of the village. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. II. viii. 291 The patriarch of that great house was now a knight so poor that he craved leave of his lord to leave his service. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. I. iii. 28 Mr. George Bancroft, now the patriarch of American literature. |
b. transf. The head of a flock or herd; of trees, etc., the oldest and greatest; gen. the most venerable object of a group.
| 1700 Dryden Palamon & Arc. iii. 1058 The monarch oak, the patriarch of the trees. 1810 Scott Lady of L. iii. viii, A goat, the patriarch of the flock. 1850 R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. (ed. 2) I. 243, I shot the patriarch of the herd, which as usual brought up the rear. |
6. attrib. and Comb., as patriarch-age, patriarch-pupil, patriarch-throne, patriarch-wit; patriarch's age, the lifetime of a patriarch (sense 1), a very long time.
| 1693 Humours Town 107 Some old, nonsensical Translations..which have serv'd a Patriarch's Age to the Library of Moore-fields. 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 479 That golden age..When Patriarch-wits surviv'd a thousand years. 1868 J. H. Newman Verses on Var. Occas. 129 Till thou didst quit Thy patriarch-throne at length. 1889 R. B. Anderson tr. Rydberg's Teut. Mythol. 95 Then the second mythic patriarch-age begins. |
Hence ˈpatriarch v. nonce-wd., in to patriarch it, to play the patriarch; ˈpatriarched a., having or containing a patriarch.
| 1632 Lithgow Trav. vi. 237 Hebrons Patriarch'd Tombe. 1639 Fuller Holy War ii. xliv. 103 Whilest Heraclius did Patriarch it in Jerusalem, one Haymericus had the same honour at Antioch. 1766 Sterne Lett. 25 May (1775) II. 160 A delicious Chateau..where I have been patriarching it these seven days with her ladyship. |