Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “patriarchy” come from?

Patriarchy derives from Latin patriarchia, from Ancient Greek πατριαρχία, from the agent noun πατριάρχης, composed of πατρι- (father) and -ᾰ́ρχης (ruler).

patriarchy (English): A social system in which the father is head of...

Definitions

  1. A social system in which the father is head of...

Ancestry of “patriarchy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinpatriarchiapatriarchate; a patriarchal church
2Ancient Greekπατριαρχία—
3Ancient Greekπατριάρχηςa patriarch
4Ancient Greek-άρχης-arch
5Ancient Greek-ήςadjective suffix
6Proto-Indo-European-ēsPrimarily forms adjectival bahuvrīhi compounds
7Proto-Indo-European-ess—
8Proto-Indo-European-osCreates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;...

Words derived from “patriarchy”

  • heteropatriarchy
  • neopatriarchy
  • antipatriarchy
  • postpatriarchy
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -os →