patriarch

Meanings

1. 1
   noun The highest form of bishop, in the ancient world having authority over other bishops in the province but now generally as an honorary title; in Roman Catholicism, considered a bishop second only to the Pope in rank.
2. 2
   noun In Biblical contexts, a male leader of a family, tribe or ethnic group, especially one of the twelve sons of Jacob (considered to have created the twelve tribes of Israel) or (in plural) Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
3. 3
   noun A founder of a political or religious movement, an organization or an enterprise.
4. 4
   noun An old leader of a village or community.
5. 5
   noun The male progenitor of a genetic or tribal line, or of a clan or extended family.
6. 6
   noun The male head of a household or nuclear family.