- patriarch
- late 12c., from O.Fr. patriarche "one of the Old Testament fathers" (11c.), from L.L. patriarcha (Tertullian), from Gk. patriarches "chief or head of a family," from patria "family, clan," from pater "father" + archein "to rule." Also used as an honorific title of certain bishops in the early Church, notably those of Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome.