hierarchy: Meaning and Definition of


Pronunciation: (hī'u-rär"kē, hī'rär-), [key]
— pl. -chies.
  1. any system of persons or things ranked one above another.
  2. government by ecclesiastical rulers.
  3. the power or dominion of a hierarch.
  4. an organized body of ecclesiastical officials in successive ranks or orders: the Roman Catholic hierarchy.
  6. Also calledthe collective body of angels.
  7. government by an elite group.
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