Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PA-TRI-ARCH'AL, or PA-TRI-ARCH'IC, a.

1. Belonging to patriarchs; possessed by patriarchs; as, patriarchal power or jurisdiction; a patriarchal see.
2. Subject to a patriarch; as, a patriarchal church. Patriarchal cross, in heraldry, is that where the shaft is twice crossed, the lower arms being longer than the upper ones. – Encyc.