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Definition of patriarch : 1. A dignitary superior to the order of archbishops; as, the patriarch of Constantinople, of Alexandria, or of Antioch.
2. A venerable old man; an elder. Also used figuratively.
3. The father and ruler of a family; one who governs his family or descendants by paternal right; - usually applied to heads of families in ancient history, especially in Biblical and Jewish history to those who lived before the time of Moses.

Synonyms:

paterfamilias, parent, creator, inventor, entrepreneur, father, start, maker, founder, originator, head of household, architect, author

chief, head of family, ruler, elder, ancestor

old-timer, old hand, senior, veteran, master, old soldier, gray-beard, expert

Usage examples:

• " The patriarch is introduced to us as possessing so many camels and oxen, and so forth, and ten children. - "My Life as an Author", Martin Farquhar Tupper.
• Perry gazed steadily at the patriarch as he spoke. - "Astounding Stories of Super-Science, March 1930", Various.
• Not that the identification of the accomplice had any real significance, since the man so ostentatiously picked out by the patriarch in court had been caught red- handed at the time of the robbery within a block of the saloon, was already under indictment as a co- defendant, and being out on bail had merely been brought in under a bench warrant and placed among the spectators. - "McAllister and His Double", Arthur Train.