Paterfamilias

By Deane Barker

Definition: the head of a family

Clearly, this is a combination of “paternal” and “family.”

Why I Looked It Up

In a discussion of William F. Buckley:

Through his longevity, sustained productivity, and public visibility, Buckley served the intellectual conservative movement as a paterfamilias.

Postscript

Added on

The role of paterfamilias comes up a lot in The First Man in Rome.

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