hierarchal

the word 'hierarchal' is built upon the foundation of 'hierarchy', which entered english in the 14th century via old french and medieval latin from the greek hierarkhia, meaning "rule of a high priest". this greek source is a compound of hieros ("sacred, holy") and arkhē ("rule, beginning"). the original sense was strictly religious, denoting a system of celestial beings or a governing body of priests. the modern, more abstract meaning of any graded system of organization developed in the 17th century. the suffix -al was then appended to the base 'hierarch-' to form the adjective, shifting the focus from the system itself to the quality of being structured in such a ranked order.

Structure: hier (sacred) + arch (rule) + al (adjective suffix) hier: from greek hieros, meaning "sacred, holy". functions as a combining form. arch: from greek arkhē, meaning "rule, government, beginning". functions as a combining form. al: from latin -alis, an adjective-forming suffix meaning "of, relating to, or characterized by".