hierarchy

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A system in which people or things are ranked one above another by status or importance.

   In most companies there is a clear hierarchy from junior staff to managers.

2. 2
   noun

   An ordered arrangement in which each thing is ranked relative to the others.

   We put honesty first in our hierarchy of values.

Common collocations

• episcopal hierarchy Adjective + noun

From Middle English ierarchie, jerarchie, from Old French ierarchie, jerarchie, from Late Latin ierarchia, from Latin hierarchia, from Ancient Greek ἱεραρχία (hierarkhía, “rule of a high priest”), from ἱεράρχης (hierárkhēs, “high priest”), from ἱερός (hierós, “holy”) + ἄρχω (árkhō, “to rule”), equivalent to hiero- + -archy. The H was re-added c. 1500 due to influence from Classical Latin.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images