matriarch
[
mey
-tree-ahrk]
/ˈmeɪ triˌɑrk/
noun
1.
the female head of a family or tribal line.
2.
a woman who is the founder or dominant member of a community or group.
3.
a venerable old woman.
Origin
1600-10;
matri-
+
-arch
Related forms
matriarchal,
matriarchic,
adjective
matriarchalism,
noun
Examples from the web for
matriarch
She was the family's beautiful and elegant
matriarch
.
Scientists then let the chimp groups watch their
matriarch
use the technique she had learned.
Trek into the world of big words-from adaptation to
matriarch
to yucca.
When he told them what he was doing, the
matriarch
declared him crazy.
When she panicked she went back to go get her mom, the
matriarch
.
Jane, the
matriarch
of our family, you will be held deeply in our hearts forever.
The
matriarch
strode over with a big smile and shook our hands and asked us to tea.
The campaign waged by this horribly believable
matriarch
takes many forms and never lets up.
There is even a book from the
matriarch
of the family.
At that, with manic inspiration, the ageless
matriarch
pounced on the hat and plopped it on her cheesy gray wig.
British Dictionary definitions for
matriarch
matriarch
/
ˈmeɪtrɪˌɑːk
/
noun
1.
a woman who dominates an organization, community, etc
2.
the female head of a tribe or family, esp in a matriarchy
3.
a very old or venerable woman
Derived Forms
matriarchal,
(
rare
)
matriarchic,
adjective
matriarchalism,
noun
Word Origin
C17: from
matri-
+
-arch
, by false analogy with
patriarch
Word Origin and History for
matriarch
n.
"mother who heads a family or tribe," c.1600, from
matri-
+
-arch
, abstracted from
patriarch
.