tetrarch

tet·rarch  (tträrk, tträrk)

n.

1.

a. A subordinate ruler.

b. One of four joint rulers.

2. A governor of one of four divisions of a country or province, especially in the ancient Roman Empire.

3. The commander of a subdivision of a phalanx in ancient Greece.

---

[Middle English tetrarche, a Roman tetrarch, from Old French, from Late Latin tetrarcha, from Latin tetrarchs, from Greek tetrarkhs : tetra-, tetra- + -arkhs, -arch.]

---

te·trarchic (t-trärkk, t-) adj.