Matriarchy definition |Dictionary.com

Matriarchy

4 dictionary results for: Matriarchy

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ma·tri·ar·chy

[mey-tree-ahr-kee] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural -chies.

1.	a family, society, community, or state governed by women.

2.	a form of social organization in which the mother is head of the family, and in which descent is reckoned in the female line, the children belonging to the mother's clan; matriarchal system.

[Origin: 1880–85; matri- + -archy

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ma·tri·ar·chy (mā'trē-är'kē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. ma·tri·ar·chies In both senses also called matriarchate.

A social system in which the mother is head of the family.
A family, community, or society based on this system or governed by women.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

matriarchy
noun
a form of social organization in which a female is the family head and title is traced through the female line

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American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
matriarchy [(may-tree-ahr-kee)]

A family or society in which authority is held by females, through whom descent and inheritance are traced. More generally, a matriarchy is a society dominated by women. (See also matrilineal, patriarchy, and patrilineal.)

[Chapter:] Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology

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