patrician

[ puh-trish-uhn ]

/ pəˈtrɪʃ ən /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR patrician ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person of noble or high rank; aristocrat.

a person of very good background, education, and refinement.

a member of the original senatorial aristocracy in ancient Rome.

(under the later Roman and Byzantine empires) a title or dignity conferred by the emperor.

a member of a hereditary ruling class in certain medieval German, Swiss, and Italian free cities.

adjective

of high social rank or noble family; aristocratic.

befitting or characteristic of persons of very good background, education, and refinement: patrician tastes.

of or belonging to the patrician families of ancient Rome.

Origin of patrician

1400–50; < Latin patrici(us) patrician ( pat(e)r FATHER + -icius adj. suffix) + -AN; replacing late Middle English patricion < Old French patricien

SYNONYMS FOR patrician

7 dignified, genteel, stately.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR patrician ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM patrician

pa·tri·cian·hood, pa·tri·cian·ship, noun pa·tri·cian·ism, noun pa·tri·cian·ly, adverb pre·pa·tri·cian, adjective

un·pa·tri·cian, adjective

Words nearby patrician

patriarchate, patriarchs, patriarchy, patriate, patricia, patrician, patriciate, patricide, patrick, patrick's test, patrick, saint

Example sentences from the Web for patrician

One of those votes belonged to Justice Lewis Powell, a well-heeled, patrician justice from Virginia appointed by Richard Nixon.

The Sodomy Case That May Sway Justice Kennedy’s Same-Sex Marriage Vote |Adam Winkler |March 25, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
In one corner: the patrician, privileged, well-mannered 35-year-old Quayle.

Ben Quayle’s Election Fight Gets Ugly |Terry Greene Sterling |August 26, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
He could be unbearably glib, but his patrician persona and acid tongue, his radiating sense of superiority, made for good showbiz.

Becoming Gore Vidal: The Henry Adams of Our Age |Morris Dickstein |August 4, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
He was a patrician radical, a type more common in Europe than here, since we have never had a formal aristocracy.

Becoming Gore Vidal: The Henry Adams of Our Age |Morris Dickstein |August 4, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

This patrician decline occurred at the state and local level as well.

The Last Patrician: Romney Falls From Favor as America Loses Faith in Old Money |Joel Kotkin |January 23, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
When silent she was the picture of a patrician beauty; but, alas!

Shawl-Straps |Louisa M. Alcott
The animosity with which the patrician order was regarded was inflamed by the arts and the eloquence of Seymour.

The History of England from the Accession of James II. |Thomas Babington Macaulay
No doubt you're right, Sir, but I like the Patrician myself—it's very smartly written.

The Travelling Companions |F. Anstey
A recent fire had just destroyed the home of a patrician which lined its banks.

The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. VIII (of X) - Continental Europe II. |Various
Eustace Dolph at twenty-two was no more like his father than his patrician name was like simple and scriptural Jacob.

The Story of a New York House |Henry Cuyler Bunner

British Dictionary definitions for patrician

patrician

/ (pəˈtrɪʃən) /

noun

a member of the hereditary aristocracy of ancient Rome. In the early republic the patricians held almost all the higher offices Compare plebs (def. 2)

a high nonhereditary title awarded by Constantine and his eastern Roman successors for services to the empire

(in medieval Europe)

a title borne by numerous princes including several emperors from the 8th to the 12th centuries
a member of the upper class in numerous Italian republics and German free cities

an aristocrat

a person of refined conduct, tastes, etc

adjective

(esp in ancient Rome) of, relating to, or composed of patricians

aristocratic

oligarchic and often antidemocratic or nonpopular patrician political views

Word Origin for patrician

C15: from Old French patricien, from Latin patricius noble, from pater father

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

patrician

noun

adjective

Origin of patrician

SYNONYMS FOR patrician

OTHER WORDS FROM patrician

Words nearby patrician

Example sentences from the Web for patrician

British Dictionary definitions for patrician

noun

adjective

Word Origin for patrician

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

patrician

noun

adjective

Origin of patrician

SYNONYMS FOR patrician

OTHER WORDS FROM patrician

Words nearby patrician

Words related to patrician

Example sentences from the Web for patrician

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noun

adjective

Word Origin for patrician

British Dictionary definitions for patrician