patriarchal
/ˌpeɪtɹiˈɑːkəl/pay-tree-AHR-kuhl
/ˌpeɪtɹiˈɑɹkəl/pay-tree-AHR-kuhl
Meaningrelating to a patriarch
Common meaning: ruled by men
- patria fatherLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 1162 · scan
- archa beginning; rule, commandLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 121 · scan
- aladjective ending: relating to
‘a father’ + ‘a beginning’ → patriarchal
Journey through time
Only the patri half is traced; the path of arch is not in our sources yet.
patri Greek πατήρ, πατρός “a father”
- Greekπατήρ, πατρός‘a father’
arch Greek ἀρχή “a beginning; rule, command” · path not traced
Parts join in Middle English as patriarche.
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from patriarch + -al.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), PATRIARCH, p.426 · scan
Roots
- πατήρ, πατρός Greek “a father”
- ἀρχή Greek “a beginning; rule, command”
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app