Hierarchy — • This word has been used to denote the totality of ruling powers in the Church, ever since the time of the Pseudo Dionysius Areopagita (sixth century), who consecrated the expression in his works, The Celestial Hierarchy and The Ecclesiastical… … Catholic encyclopedia
hierarchy — hi‧er‧ar‧chy [ˈhaɪrɑːki ǁ ɑːr ] noun hierarchies PLURALFORM 1. [countable, uncountable] HUMAN RESOURCES an organization or structure in which the staff are organized in levels and the people at one level have authority over those below them: •… … Financial and business terms
hierarchy — I (arrangement in a series) noun arrangement, categorization, chain, classification, collocation, distribution, gradation, grouping, order, order of succession, progression, range, run, seriation, series, succession, system II (persons in… … Law dictionary
hierarchy — ► NOUN (pl. hierarchies) 1) a ranking system ordered according to status or authority. 2) an arrangement according to relative importance or inclusiveness. 3) (the hierarchy) the clergy of the Catholic Church or of an episcopal Church. 4)… … English terms dictionary
hierarchy — mid 14c., from O.Fr. ierarchie, from M.L. hierarchia ranked division of angels (in the system of Dionysius the Areopagite), from Gk. hierarkhia rule of a high priest, from hierarkhes high priest, leader of sacred rites, from ta hiera the sacred… … Etymology dictionary
hierarchy — [n] order chain of command*, due order, echelons, grouping, pecking order, placing, position, pyramid, ranking, scale; concept 727 … New thesaurus
hierarchy — [hī′ər är΄kē] n. pl. hierarchies [altered (modeled on Gr) < ME ierarchie < OFr jerarchie < ML(Ec) hierarchia < LGr(Ec), power or rule of a hierarch < Gr hierarchēs: see HIERARCH] 1. a system of church government by priests or other … English World dictionary
Hierarchy — A hierarchy (Greek: hierarchia (ἱεραρχία), from hierarches, leader of sacred rites ) is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) in which the items are represented as being above, below, or at the same level as one… … Wikipedia
hierarchy — 01. The culture of my country is based upon a [hierarchy], with the King, father, and teacher at the top. 02. The church [hierarchy] seems to be against the progressive notions of many of its followers. 03. Very few women have been able to… … Grammatical examples in English
hierarchy — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ complex ▪ rigid, strict ▪ the rigid class hierarchy of rural society ▪ traditional ▪ existing … Collocations dictionary
