patriarchal
/ˌpeɪtɹiˈɑɹkl̩/adjective
patriarchal is spelled P-A-T-R-I-A-R-C-H-A-L: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, patriarchal means “Characteristic of a patriarch; venerable” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in patriarchal?
| Letters | 11: P-A-T-R-I-A-R-C-H-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is patriarchal?
Patriarchal appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce patriarchal?
- US /ˌpeɪtɹiˈɑɹkl̩/
- UK /ˌpeɪtɹiˈɑːkl̩/
Patriarchal has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-patriarchal.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of patriarchal
- more patriarchal comparative
- most patriarchal superlative
- patriarchial
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does patriarchal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Characteristic of a patriarch; venerable.
- 2
Relating to a system run by males, rather than females; relating to a patriarchy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Patriarchal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | patriarcal |
| German | patriarchal, patriarchalisch, patriarchisch |
| Portuguese | patriarcal |
| Spanish | patriarcal |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does patriarchal come from?
Borrowed from Late Latin patriarchālis, from patriarcha + -ālis. Sychronically analyzable as patriarch + -al.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).