Link Centre Dictionary

matriarchate

mat·riarc·hate

UK/ˈmeɪtɹiɑːkət/ uncommon

noun

1.

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

Synonyms

Origin

From matriarch + -ate (forms nouns denoting rank or office, a system ruled by people of such office), modeled after patriarchate.

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.