What does patrician mean?
A patrician is, in its historical sense, a member of the patrician class of ancient Rome, an order associated with the city’s earliest ruling families. The term was later applied to members of privileged hereditary aristocracies elsewhere, especially where social arrangements deliberately imitated the Roman model. As an adjective, “patrician” describes something associated with that status: an elegant bearing, an old and influential family, or a social order organized around inherited privilege. The word is now more common in history, biography, literature, and political commentary than in neutral everyday speech. Depending on context, it can simply indicate aristocratic ancestry, but it may also carry critical implications of exclusivity, conservatism, or class division. Its Roman origin makes it particularly useful when discussing ideas of civic leadership, hereditary status, and the relationship between political power and family name.
A member of the patrician class of ancient Rome, or of a privileged hereditary aristocracy modeled on that class.
"The young patrician was educated by Rome’s finest tutors."
The ancient Roman sense is historical. In later use, the word generally denotes an aristocrat whose status rests on inherited rank or lineage.
Belonging or characteristic of a patrician or an ancient patrician class; aristocratic or reservedly exclusive.
"The portrait conveys the sitter’s patrician authority."
The adjective can be approvingly elegant, especially in literary contexts, but it may also suggest privilege, snobbery, or resistance to social change.
The standard plural of the noun.
"Several patricians commissioned statues for the public basilica."
Patricians took their name from the Latin patres, “fathers,” reflecting Rome’s old idea that political authority descended through distinguished family lines.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does patrician come from?
The word comes from Latin patricius, meaning “of or belonging to a Roman father,” and ultimately from patres, “fathers.” In Roman usage, patricians were members of a class whose political standing was associated with distinguished ancestry and membership among the founders of the senate. English borrowed the term in the early 16th century, first for Roman patricians and later for comparable privileged nobles in other societies.
Related word forms
How patrician is actually used
Historically, the word referred specifically to members of ancient Rome’s patrician class. In modern English it is chiefly historical or literary and can suggest inherited privilege, exclusivity, and a conservative social order; it is less common in everyday American usage than in historical writing.
Easily confused with patrician
A patrician is a member of a privileged social class, whereas a patricide is the murder of one’s father or a father.
A patrician belongs to a historically privileged class, while a patron is a person or institution that sponsors, supports, or provides funding.