matriarchal

[ mey-tree-ahr-kuhl ]
See synonyms for matriarchal on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of or relating to a matriarch, the female head of a family, tribe, community, etc.: her matriarchal qualities of love and compassion.

  2. characteristic of an entity, family, etc., controlled by women: matriarchal cultures in India.

Origin of matriarchal

1
First recorded in 1840–45; matriarch + -al1
  • Sometimes ma·tri·ar·chic [mey-tree-ahr-kik] /ˌmeɪ triˈɑr kɪk/ .

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024