HIERARCHICAL
Hi`er*arch"ic*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. hiérarchique.]
Defn: Pertaining to a hierarchy.
— Hi`er*arch`ic*al*ly, adv.
HIERARCHISM
Hi"er*arch`ism, n.
Defn: The principles or authority of a hierarchy.
The more dominant hierarchism of the West. Milman.
HIERARCHY
Hi"er*arch`y, n.; pl. Hierarchies. Etym: [Gr. hiérarchie.]
1. Dominion or authority in sacred things.
2. A body of officials disposed organically in ranks and orders each subordinate to the one above it; a body of ecclesiastical rulers.
3. A form of government administered in the church by patriarchs, metropolitans, archbishops, bishops, and, in an inferior degree, by priests. Shipley.
4. A rank or order of holy beings. Standards and gonfalons . . . for distinction serve Of hierarchies, of orders, and degrees. Milton.
HIERATIC
Hi`er*at"ic, a. Etym: [L. hieraticus, Gr. hiératique.]