ˈhīəˌrärk, -ˌrȧk also ˈhīˌr- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French or Medieval Latin; Middle French hierarche, from Medieval Latin hierarcha, from Greek hierarchēs, from hier- + -archēs -arch
1. : a religious leader holding high office or vested with controlling authority : chief prelate : high priest
the important central painting … shows the apostolic succession of hierarchs — W.E.Needham
steps taken by the British East India Company to … establish relations with the Tibetan hierarchs — Beatrice D. Miller
2. : one having authority or pontifical dignity resembling that of a hierarch
former ministers, generals, blackshirt hierarchs — Janet Flanner
proceed with the utmost decorum and in what the hierarchs … considered the best of Senate tradition — New York Times Magazine