patrician
/pəˈtɹɪʃən/
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.64 in modern English
Meaning
noun
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.
adj
Of or pertaining to the Roman patres (“fathers”) or senators, or patricians.
adj
Of or pertaining to a person of high birth; noble; not plebeian; aristocratic.
adj
Characteristic of or appropriate to a person of high birth; classy.
adj
Politically active to help people in lower classes, especially in a patronizing or condescending way.
adj
Of or relating to Saint Patrick.
Example Sentences
- "Noble Patricians, Patrons of my right, / Defend the iuſtice of my Cauſe with Armes."
- "The emperor elevated several loyal families to the status of patricians."
- "[…] I ſee Th’ Inſulting Tyrant prancing o’er the Field Strow’d with Rome’s Citizens, and drench’d in Slaughter, His Horſe’s Hoofs wet with Patrician Blood."
- "The cognomen was first used in patrician families, who were distinguished from the plebeians by their three names."
- "born in the patrician file of society"
- "Hanks' taste in projects and directors is undoubtedly patrician and with a few exceptions like 1993's Philadelphia, the first mainstream film about the Aids crisis, rarely provocative"