exarchy

E1X8A1R1C3H4Y4

noun

The jurisdiction of an exarch (any definition); an exarchate.

Scrabble 22

Meanings

exarchy1

nounexarchy (countable and uncountable, plural exarchies)

plural exarchies

  1. countableuncountableThe jurisdiction of an exarch (any definition); an exarchate.

    These exarchies arose in the ninth century when the superiors of monasteries exercised pastoral care of faithful who belonged to churches dependent on the monastery.

    1992, John D. Faris, Catholic Church, The Eastern Catholic churches
    1 more example

    He was warmly received everywhere and the replacement of the exarchy apparatus — the district chairman, directors, inspectors and Bulgarian teachers — went fairly painlessly, which shows that the majority of the Macedonian citizens agreed with and enthusiastically accepted his attitudes.

    1986, Macedonian Review - Volumes 16-17, page 151

exarchy2

nounexarchy (uncountable)
  1. uncountablebiologyA vascular system in which development starts in the regions farthest from the axis and spreads inward.

    Fossil evidence supports neither the view that exarchy is more primitive than mesarchy, nor the view that mesarchy is more primitive than exarchy.

    1952, David William Bierhorst, On the Morphology, Anatomy, and Phylogeny of the Psilotaceae
    2 more examples

    There is no doubt, however, that if endarchy is primitive in the protostelic and immediately derived types, it very rapidly gives place to mesarchy and exarchy in response to various demands, and it is not difficult to show how this may have occurred.

    1908, Sir Arthur George Tansley, Lectures on the Evolution of the Filicinean Vascular System, page 16

    Exarchy, endarchy, and mesarchy are all found within comparatively small groups, and the actual course of evolution seems to affect the position of the protoxylems much more freely and rapidly than in the other great groups of vascular plants.

    2013, Frans Verdoorn, A.H.G. Alston, Manual of Pteridology, →ISBN, page 79

Origin

exarchy · noun

  1. Ancient Greekἐξαρχία
  2. Englishexarchy

From Ancient Greek ἐξαρχία (exarkhía).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

exarchy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exarchy

MLA

“exarchy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exarchy. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “exarchy,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exarchy.

Source: exarchy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.