Patriarch

Noun

 * 1) A male leader of a family, a tribe or an ethnic or religious group.
 * 2) A founder of a political or religious movement, an organization or an enterprise.
 * 3) Abraham, his son Isaac or his grandson Jacob. see Wikipedia
 * 4)  The highest form of bishop, generally in charge of an ethnic community, but in terms of the pope and the ecumenical patriarch, the former is the Patriarch of the West and the latter is the Patriarch of the East, a division dating to the Emperor Constantine the Great. The cities of Antioch, Alexandria, and almost as an afterthought, Jerusalem are accorded equal historical if not ecclesial dignity. Any and all other patriarchs, particularly that of the Russian church, are inferior.
 * 5) (Bible Dictionary) Patriarch is an ordained office in the Melchizedek Priesthood. The fathers from Adam to Jacob were all patriarchs of this kind. The word as used in the Bible seems to denote also a title of honor to early leaders of the Israelites, such as David (Acts 2:29) and the 12 sons of Jacob (Acts 7:8-9). The word is of Greek derivation and means father-ruler; the Hebrew translation simply means father.

Adjectives for Patriarch
hoary; dusky; aged; seafaring; aboriginal; venerable.

Thesaurus
Aaronic priesthood, Father Time, Grand Penitentiary, Holy Father, Melchizedek priesthood, Methuselah, Nestor, Old Paar, Seventy, abba, abuna, ancestors, antecedents, antediluvian, antipope, antique, apostle, archbishop, archdeacon, architect, archpriest, ascendants, author, back number, bishop, bishop coadjutor, boss, bwana, canon, cardinal, cardinal bishop, cardinal deacon, cardinal priest, centenarian, chaplain, chef, chief, church dignitary, coadjutor, conservative, creator, curate, dad, daddy, deacon, dean, diocesan, dodo, dotard, ecclesiarch, elder, elders, employer, exarch, father, fathers, fogy, forebears, forefathers, fossil, foster father, founder, fud, fuddy-duddy, gaffer, geezer, generator, genitor, golden-ager, goodman, governor, gramps, grandfather, grandfathers, grandparents, grandsire, granny, graybeard, guru, has-been, hierarch, high priest, husband, inventor, liege, liege lord, longhair, lord, lord paramount, maker, master, matriarch, metropolitan, mid-Victorian, mossback, nonagenarian, octogenarian, old believer, old chap, old codger, old crock, old dodo, old dog, old duffer, old fogy, old geezer, old gent, old gentleman, old liner, old man, old party, old poop, old woman, old-timer, older, oldster, originator, overlord, pa, padrone, pantaloon, pap, papa, pappy, paramount, pater, paterfamilias, patriarchs, patron, penitentiary, pontiff, pop, pope, pops, prebendary, predecessors, prelate, presbyter, priest, primate, progenitors, rabbi, reactionary, rector, regular old fogy, relic, rural dean, sahib, seigneur, seignior, senior citizen, septuagenarian, sexagenarian, sire, square, starets, stepfather, subdean, suffragan, teacher, the old man, the quiet-voiced elders, traditionalist, venerable sir, veteran, vicar

Etymology
From πατριάρχης:, from πατριά (patria) "generation, ancestry, descent, tribe, family"  + ἀρχή (arkhee) "start, found, first cause, power, rule, dominion".

Translations

 * Arabic: شيخ
 * Armenian: տանուտեր, նախահայր
 * Old Armenian: ,
 * Bulgarian: баща, патриарх
 * Coptic: (batriarʃis)
 * Czech: praotec
 * Dutch:, aartsvader
 * Esperanto:
 * Finnish:
 * German:
 * Greek: πατριάρχης (patriarches)
 * Ido: patriarko
 * Irish: patrarc, uasalathair


 * Italian: patriarca
 * Japanese:
 * 総主教 (そうしゅきょう, sōshukyō); in Orthodox Church
 * 総大司教 (そうだいしきょう, sōdaishikyō); in Catholic Church
 * Latin: patriarcha
 * Manx: ard-ayr
 * Norwegian: patriark
 * Polish: patriarcha
 * Russian: патриарх
 * Scottish Gaelic: àrd-athair
 * Spanish:
 * Swedish: patriark
 * West Frisian: