What does HIERARCHY mean?

Definitions for HIERARCHY
ˈhaɪ əˌrɑr ki, ˈhaɪ rɑr-hi·er·ar·chy

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word HIERARCHY.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. hierarchynoun

    a series of ordered groupings of people or things within a system

    "put honesty first in her hierarchy of values"

  2. hierarchy, power structure, pecking ordernoun

    the organization of people at different ranks in an administrative body

GCIDE

  1. Hierarchynoun

    (Math., Logic, Computers) Any group of objects ranked so that every one but the topmost is subordinate to a specified one above it; also, the entire set of ordering relations between such objects. The ordering relation between each object and the one above is called a hierarchical relation. Classification schemes, as in biology, usually form hierarchies.

Wiktionary

  1. hierarchynoun

    A body of authoritative officials organized in nested ranks.

  2. hierarchynoun

    Any group of objects ranked so that every one but the topmost is subordinate to a specified one above it.

  3. Etymology: From ierarchie from hierarchia, from ἱεραρχία, from ἱεράρχης, from ἱερεύς and ἀρχή. Compare hiérarchie.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Hierarchynoun

    Etymology: hierarchie, French, from hierarch.

    Out of the hierarchies of angels sheen,
    The gentle Gabriel call’d he from the rest. Edward Fairfax, b. i.

    He rounds the air, and breaks the hymnick notes
    In birds, heav’n’s choristers, organick throats;
    Which, if they did not die, might seem to be
    A tenth rank in the heavenly hierarchy. John Donne.

    These the supreme king
    Exalted to such pow’r, and gave to rule,
    Each in his hierarchy, the orders bright. John Milton, Par. Lost.

    Jehova, from the summit of the sky,
    Environ’d with his winged hierarchy,
    The world survey’d. George Sandys.

    The blessedest of mortal wights, now questionless the highest saint in the celestial hierarchy, began to be so importuned, that a great part of the divine liturgy was addressed solely to her. James Howell, Vocal Forest.

    The presbytery had more sympathy with the discipline of Scotland than the hierarchy of England. Francis Bacon.

    While the old levitical hierarchy continued, it was part of the ministerial office to flay the sacrifices. South.

    Consider what I have written, from regard for the church established under the hierarchy of bishops. Jonathan Swift.

Wikipedia

  1. Hierarchy

    A hierarchy (from Greek: ἱεραρχία, hierarkhia, 'rule of a high priest', from hierarkhes, 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important concept in a wide variety of fields, such as architecture, philosophy, design, mathematics, computer science, organizational theory, systems theory, systematic biology, and the social sciences (especially political philosophy). A hierarchy can link entities either directly or indirectly, and either vertically or diagonally. The only direct links in a hierarchy, insofar as they are hierarchical, are to one's immediate superior or to one of one's subordinates, although a system that is largely hierarchical can also incorporate alternative hierarchies. Hierarchical links can extend "vertically" upwards or downwards via multiple links in the same direction, following a path. All parts of the hierarchy that are not linked vertically to one another nevertheless can be "horizontally" linked through a path by traveling up the hierarchy to find a common direct or indirect superior, and then down again. This is akin to two co-workers or colleagues; each reports to a common superior, but they have the same relative amount of authority. Organizational forms exist that are both alternative and complementary to hierarchy. Heterarchy is one such form.

ChatGPT

  1. hierarchy

    Hierarchy is a system or organization in which people or groups are ranked one above the other according to status, authority, importance, or other criteria. It is a structured model where individuals or elements are categorized based on their level of power or influence.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Hierarchynoun

    dominion or authority in sacred things

  2. Hierarchynoun

    a body of officials disposed organically in ranks and orders each subordinate to the one above it; a body of ecclesiastical rulers

  3. Hierarchynoun

    a form of government administered in the church by patriarchs, metropolitans, archbishops, bishops, and, in an inferior degree, by priests

  4. Hierarchynoun

    a rank or order of holy beings

  5. Etymology: [Gr. 'ierarchi`a: cf. F. hirarchie.]

Wikidata

  1. Hierarchy

    A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another. Abstractly, a hierarchy can be modelled mathematically as a rooted tree: the root of the tree forms the top level, and the children of a given vertex are at the same level, below their common parent. A hierarchy can link entities either directly or indirectly, and either vertically or horizontally. The only direct links in a hierarchy, insofar as they are hierarchical, are to one's immediate superior or to one of one's subordinates, although a system that is largely hierarchical can also incorporate alternative hierarchies. Indirect hierarchical links can extend "vertically" upwards or downwards via multiple links in the same direction, following a path. All parts of the hierarchy which are not linked vertically to one another nevertheless can be "horizontally" linked through a path by traveling up the hierarchy to find a common direct or indirect superior, and then down again. This is akin to two co-workers or colleagues; each reports to a common superior, but they have the same relative amount of authority. Organizational forms exist that are both alternative and complimentary to hierarchy. Heterarchy is one such form.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'HIERARCHY' in Nouns Frequency: #1859

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce HIERARCHY?

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of HIERARCHY in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of HIERARCHY in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of HIERARCHY in a Sentence

  1. Al Zadig:

    Certainly, there is a presidential character that requires truth telling, lying is a sin. There is no hierarchy of sin in the eyes of God although the consequences may be different in society. This creates a real struggle for many clergy and people of faith with the sin of murder from the perspective of abortion. ...Again, sin is non-hierarchical, but the consequences between lying and murder are so vastly different. As a priest, it provides an honest and powerful dilemma. But the common nature of what we call the seven deadly sins is that they kill the heart and the soul of a person.

  2. Johnny Rodrigues:

    The saddest part of all is that, now that Cecil is dead, the next lion in the hierarchy, Jericho will most likely kill all Cecil's cubs so that he can insert his own bloodline into the females, this is standard procedure for lions.

  3. Paula Kane:

    The bishops' first reaction was to say that things look bad, but they did all we could, but lay people aren't buying that. The trust between the church's hierarchy and the people in the pews has been destroyed.

  4. Laurence J. Peter:

    In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.

  5. Jeremy Faledam:

    It's unsettling. He makes a hierarchy between racism and homophobia, which are two types of discrimination that need to be fought just the same.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

HIERARCHY#1#8571#10000

Translations for HIERARCHY

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"HIERARCHY." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 Nov. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/HIERARCHY>.

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