hierarchy

hierarchy
1. Any system of persons or things ranked one above the other. 2. In psychology and psychiatry, an organization of habits or concepts in which simpler components are combined to form increasingly complex integrations. [G. hierarchia, rule or power of the high priest]
- dominance h. a social situation in which one organism dominates all below it, the next all below it, and so on down to the organism dominated by all; e.g., the pecking order in apes, seals, barnyard hens, and other species.
- Maslow h. a ranking of needs which humans presumably fills successively in the order of lowest to highest: physiological needs, love and belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization.
- response h. alternative reactions or modes of adjustment to a given situation arranged in the probable order of prior effectiveness; e.g., a mother attempting to discipline an unruly child may first request, cajole, then plead, scold, and finally punish; her behaviors can be ordered along a response h. for further monitoring of effectiveness.
- h. of terms in radiology, the semantic concept of using different terms to describe anatomic or pathologic structures versus the resultant diagnostic images.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • Hierarchy — • This word has been used to denote the totality of ruling powers in the Church, ever since the time of the Pseudo Dionysius Areopagita (sixth century), who consecrated the expression in his works, The Celestial Hierarchy and The Ecclesiastical… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • hierarchy — hi‧er‧ar‧chy [ˈhaɪrɑːki ǁ ɑːr ] noun hierarchies PLURALFORM 1. [countable, uncountable] HUMAN RESOURCES an organization or structure in which the staff are organized in levels and the people at one level have authority over those below them: •… …   Financial and business terms

  • hierarchy — I (arrangement in a series) noun arrangement, categorization, chain, classification, collocation, distribution, gradation, grouping, order, order of succession, progression, range, run, seriation, series, succession, system II (persons in… …   Law dictionary

  • hierarchy — ► NOUN (pl. hierarchies) 1) a ranking system ordered according to status or authority. 2) an arrangement according to relative importance or inclusiveness. 3) (the hierarchy) the clergy of the Catholic Church or of an episcopal Church. 4)… …   English terms dictionary

  • Hierarchy — Hi er*arch y (h[imac] [ e]r*[aum]rk [y^]), n.; pl. {Hierarchies} (h[imac] [ e]r*[aum]rk [i^]z). [Gr. ierarchi a: cf. F. hi[ e]rarchie.] 1. Dominion or authority in sacred things. [1913 Webster] 2. A body of officials disposed organically in ranks …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hierarchy — mid 14c., from O.Fr. ierarchie, from M.L. hierarchia ranked division of angels (in the system of Dionysius the Areopagite), from Gk. hierarkhia rule of a high priest, from hierarkhes high priest, leader of sacred rites, from ta hiera the sacred… …   Etymology dictionary

  • hierarchy — [n] order chain of command*, due order, echelons, grouping, pecking order, placing, position, pyramid, ranking, scale; concept 727 …   New thesaurus

  • hierarchy — [hī′ər är΄kē] n. pl. hierarchies [altered (modeled on Gr) < ME ierarchie < OFr jerarchie < ML(Ec) hierarchia < LGr(Ec), power or rule of a hierarch < Gr hierarchēs: see HIERARCH] 1. a system of church government by priests or other …   English World dictionary

  • Hierarchy — A hierarchy (Greek: hierarchia (ἱεραρχία), from hierarches, leader of sacred rites ) is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) in which the items are represented as being above, below, or at the same level as one… …   Wikipedia

  • hierarchy — 01. The culture of my country is based upon a [hierarchy], with the King, father, and teacher at the top. 02. The church [hierarchy] seems to be against the progressive notions of many of its followers. 03. Very few women have been able to… …   Grammatical examples in English

  • hierarchy — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ complex ▪ rigid, strict ▪ the rigid class hierarchy of rural society ▪ traditional ▪ existing …   Collocations dictionary

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