1. A body of persons having authority.
2. 1. Categorization of a group of people according to ability or status.
   2. The group so categorized.
3. A series in which each element is graded or ranked: put honesty first in her hierarchy of values.
4. 1. A body of clergy organized into successive ranks or grades with each level subordinate to the one above.
   2. Religious rule by a group of ranked clergy.
5. One of the divisions of angels.

[Middle English ierarchie, from Old French, from Medieval Latin hierarchia, from Greek hierarkhiā, rule of a high priest, from hierarkhēs, high priest. See hierarch.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.