[mey-tree-ahr-kee] 
| 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. |
| ma·tri·ar·chy (mā'trē-är'kē) n. pl. ma·tri·ar·chies In both senses also called matriarchate.
|
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.)
triˌɑr