The word for today is…
hierarchy (noun):
1: a division of angels
2a: a ruling body of clergy organized into orders or ranks each subordinate to the one above it, especially the bishops of a province or nation
b: church government by a hierarchy
3: a body of persons in authority
4: the classification of a group of people according to ability or to economic, social, or professional standing
also : the group so classified
5: a graded or ranked series
Source : Merriam -Webster
Etymology : The earliest meaning of hierarchy in English has to do with the ranks of different types of angels in the celestial order. The idea of categorizing groups according to rank readily transferred to the organization of priestly or other governmental rule. The word hierarchy is, in fact, related to a number of governmental words in English, such as monarchy, anarchy, and oligarchy, although it itself is now very rarely used in relation to government. The word comes from the Greek hierarchēs, which was formed by combining the words hieros, meaning “supernatural, holy,” and archos, meaning. “ruler.” Hierarchy has continued to spread its meaning beyond matters ecclesiastical and governmental, and today is commonly found used in reference to any one of a number of different forms of graded classification.
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