patrician
See also: Patrician
English
Alternative forms
- patritian (obsolete)
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French patricien, from Latin pātricius, derived from patrēs cōnscrīptī (“Roman senators”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pətɹˈɪʃən/
- Rhymes: -ɪʃən
Noun
patrician (plural patricians)
- (antiquity) A member of any of the families constituting the populus Romanus, or body of Roman citizens, before the development of the plebeian order; later, one who, by right of birth or by special privilege conferred, belonged to the senior class of Romans, who, with certain property, had by right a seat in the Roman Senate.
- c. 1588–1593, William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i], page 31, column 1:
- Noble Patricians, Patrons of my right, / Defend the iuſtice of my Cauſe with Armes.
-
- A person of high birth; a nobleman.
- One familiar with the works of the Christian Fathers; one versed in patristic lore or life.
Translations
member of Roman aristocracy
Related terms
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