1. (a.) Of or pertaining to a patriarch or to patriarchs; possessed by, or subject to, patriarchs; as, patriarchal authority or jurisdiction; a patriarchal see; a patriarchal church.

2. (a.) Characteristic of a patriarch; venerable.

3. (a.) Having an organization of society and government in which the head of the family exercises authority over all its generations.

aboriginal absolute advanced advanced in life advanced in years aged along in years ancestorial ancestral ancient antepatriarchal aristocratic atavistic authoritarian autochthonous autocratic autonomous bureaucratic civic civil constitutional democratic despotic dictatorial elderly fascist fatherlike fatherly federal federalist federalistic governmental grandfatherly grandmotherly grandparental gray gray with age gray-haired gray-headed grown old gubernatorial heteronomous hoar hoary humanoid maternal matriarchal matriarchic monarchal monarchial monarchic monocratic mother motherlike motherly official old old as Methuselah oligarchal oligarchic parent parental parliamentarian parliamentary paternal patriarchic pluralistic political preadamite preglacial prehistoric prehuman prime primeval primitive primogenial primoprimitive primordial pristine protohistoric protohuman republican revered reverend reverential self-governing senectuous theocratic totalitarian venerable white white with age white-bearded white-crowned white-haired wrinkled wrinkly years old