Ethnarch

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɛθˌnɑːɹk/

Definitions

1. A ruler or chief of a specific ethnic group who exercises political authority over a region
2. An individual in charge of governing a designated national or cultural community within a political framework
3. A leader appointed to oversee the affairs of a distinct ethnic population, often in a larger empire or nation

Etymology: The Greek word "ethnarkhēs" was a title for a ruler of a people rather than a country, and it appears in the Greek Bible and in the writings of Jewish historians of the Roman era. In the Second Book of Maccabees and in the New Testament (2 Corinthians 11:32), a subordinate official of this kind is described as governing a group of foreigners within a larger state, which explains why the title sat so comfortably with the idea of a community governed under a larger authority. The word is built from "ethnos," meaning "nation" or "people" (the root also gives us "ethnic"), and "-arkhēs," meaning "ruler" or "leader," from "arkhein," "to rule." Put together, the term literally means "ruler of a nation." Its path into European languages ran through Middle French "ethnarque" and New Latin "ethnarcha," which scholars and churchmen used when writing about ancient Jewish and Near Eastern governance.

Synonyms: leader, ruler, governor