patriarch

English Thesaurus

1. a man who is older and higher in rank than yourself (noun.person)

hypernym	:	graybeard, greybeard, methuselah, old man,
definition	:	a man who is very old (noun.person)

2. any of the early biblical characters regarded as fathers of the human race (noun.person)

hypernym	:	father, forefather, sire,
definition	:	the founder of a family (noun.person)

hyponym	:	antediluvian, antediluvian patriarch,
definition	:	any of the early patriarchs who lived prior to the Noachian deluge (noun.person)

hyponym	:	jacob,
definition	:	(Old Testament) son of Isaac; brother of Esau; father of the twelve patriarchs of Israel; Jacob wrestled with God and forced God to bless him, so God gave Jacob the new name of Israel (meaning `one who has been strong against God') (noun.person)

hyponym	:	simeon,
definition	:	(Old Testament) the 2nd son of Jacob and one of the 12 patriarchs of Israel (noun.person)

instance hyponym	:	abraham, ibrahim,
definition	:	the first of the Old Testament patriarchs and the father of Isaac; according to Genesis, God promised to give Abraham's family (the Hebrews) the land of Canaan (the Promised Land); God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son (noun.person)

instance hyponym	:	benjamin,
definition	:	(Old Testament) the youngest and best-loved son of Jacob and Rachel and one of the twelve forebears of the tribes of Israel (noun.person)

instance hyponym	:	isaac,
definition	:	(Old Testament) the second patriarch; son of Abraham and Sarah who was offered by Abraham as a sacrifice to God; father of Jacob and Esau (noun.person)

instance hyponym	:	ishmael,
definition	:	(Old Testament) the son of Abraham who was cast out after the birth of Isaac; considered the forebear of 12 Arabian tribes (noun.person)

instance hyponym	:	issachar,
definition	:	(Old Testament) a son of Jacob and a forebear of one of the tribes of Israel (noun.person)

instance hyponym	:	joseph,
definition	:	(Old Testament) the 11th son of Jacob and one of the 12 patriarchs of Israel; Jacob gave Joseph a coat of many colors, which made his brothers jealous and they sold him into slavery in Egypt (noun.person)

instance hyponym	:	judah,
definition	:	(Old Testament) the fourth son of Jacob who was forebear of one of the tribes of Israel; one of his descendants was to be the Messiah (noun.person)

instance hyponym	:	methuselah,
definition	:	(Old Testament) a patriarch (grandfather of Noah) who is said to have lived 969 years (noun.person)

instance hyponym	:	noah,
definition	:	the Hebrew patriarch who saved himself and his family and the animals by building an ark in which they survived 40 days and 40 nights of rain; the story of Noah and the flood is told in the Book of Genesis (noun.person)

instance hyponym	:	reuben,
definition	:	(Old Testment) a son of Jacob and forefather of one of the tribes of Israel (noun.person)

3. the male head of family or tribe (noun.person)

hypernym	:	head of household,
definition	:	the head of a household or family or tribe (noun.person)

hypernym	:	adult male, man,
definition	:	an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman) (noun.person)

4. title for the heads of the Eastern Orthodox Churches (in Istanbul and Alexandria and Moscow and Jerusalem) (noun.person)

hypernym	:	spiritual leader,
definition	:	a leader in religious or sacred affairs (noun.person)

instance hyponym	:	nestorius,
definition	:	Syrian who was a Christian bishop and Patriarch of Constantinople in the early fifth century; one of the major heresies concerning the doctrine of the hypostasis of Christ was named after him (died in 451) (noun.person)

instance hyponym	:	photius,
definition	:	Patriarch of Constantinople and saint of the Greek Orthodox Church; was condemned by the Fourth Council of Constantinople in 869 but was reinstated by a later pope (noun.person)

5. a man who is older and higher in rank than yourself (noun.person)

derivation	:	patriarchal,
definition	:	relating to or characteristic of a man who is older or higher in rank (adj.pert)

6. the male head of family or tribe (noun.person)

derivation	:	patriarchal,
definition	:	characteristic of a form of social organization in which the male is the family head and title is traced through the male line (adj.all)

7. a man who is older and higher in rank than yourself (noun.person)

derivation	:	patriarchal,
definition	:	relating to or characteristic of a man who is older or higher in rank (adj.pert)

8. the male head of family or tribe (noun.person)

derivation	:	patriarchal,
definition	:	characteristic of a form of social organization in which the male is the family head and title is traced through the male line (adj.all)