The term
patrician (
Latin patricius,
Greek πατρίκιος) originally referred to a group of
elite citizens in
ancient Rome, including both their natural and adopted members. In the
late Roman Empire, the class was broadened to include high council officials, and after the fall of the
Western Empire it remained a high
honorary title in the
Byzantine Empire.
Medieval patrician classes were once again formally defined groups of elite
burgher families in many
medieval Italian republics, such as
Venice and
Genoa, and subsequently "patrician" became a vaguer term used for
aristocrats and elite
bourgeoisie in many countries.
The word "patrician" is derived from the Latin word patricius (plural patricii), which comes from patrēs, the plural of the Latin word pater ("father"). Pater was one of the terms applied to the original members of the Roman Senate. The word comes down in English as "patrician" from the Middle English patricion, from the Old French patrician. In modern English, the word patrician is generally used to denote a member of the upper class, often with connotations of inherited wealth, elitism, and a sense of noblesse oblige.
According to Livy, the first 100 men appointed as senators by Romulus were referred to as "fathers" (patres)[1], and the descendants of those men became the Patrician class [2].
Patricians were bestowed special status as Roman citizens. They were better represented in the Roman assemblies. The Comitia Centuriata, the main legislative body, was divided into 193 voting centuriae (centuries). The first two classes (which consisted largely of patricians) together had 98 centuriae, a number which was enough to obtain a majority, despite the fact that they were fewer in number. That meant that if the patricians acted in concord, they could always determine the result of the voting of the people's assembly. So, although it was not forbidden for plebeians to hold magistracies, the patricians dominated the political scene for centuries.
