hierarchy

[ hahy-uh-rahr-kee, hahy-rahr- ]

noun

, plural hi·er·ar·chies.

1. any system of persons or things ranked one above another.
2. government by ecclesiastical rulers.
3. the power or dominion of a hierarch.
4. an organized body of ecclesiastical officials in successive ranks or orders:

   the Roman Catholic hierarchy.

5. one of the three divisions of the angels, each made up of three orders, conceived as constituting a graded body.
6. Also called celestial hierarchy. the collective body of angels.
7. government by an elite group.
8. Linguistics. the system of levels according to which a language is organized, as phonemic, morphemic, syntactic, or semantic.

hierarchy

/ ˈhaɪəˌrɑːkɪ /

noun

1. a system of persons or things arranged in a graded order
2. a body of persons in holy orders organized into graded ranks
3. the collective body of those so organized
4. a series of ordered groupings within a system, such as the arrangement of plants and animals into classes, orders, families, etc
5. linguistics maths a formal structure, usually represented by a diagram of connected nodes, with a single uppermost element Compare ordering heterarchy tree
6. government by an organized priesthood

Derived Forms

• ˌhierˈarchically, adverb
• ˈhierˌarchism, noun
• ˌhierˈarchical, adjective

Other Words From

• anti·hier·archy noun plural antihierarchies adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hierarchy¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English jerarchie, from Middle French ierarchie, gerarchie, from Medieval Latin (h)ierarchia, from Late Greek hierarchía “stewardship of sacred rites, rule or power of the high priest,” equivalent to hier(o)- “holy, sacred” + -archía, a combining form meaning “rule”; hier(o)-, -archy

Word History and Origins

Origin of hierarchy¹

C14: from Medieval Latin hierarchia, from Late Greek hierarkhia, from hierarkhēs high priest; see hiero- , -archy

Related Words

• pecking order
• ranking