English Explanatory Dictionary

matriarch

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A female leader of a family, a tribe or an ethnic or religious group.
  2. The dominant female in a family group of elephants
  3. A strong and domineering older woman; a battle axe.
  4. A female founder of a political or religious movement, an organization or an enterprise.

Pronunciation

/ˈmeɪtɹɪˌɑːk/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-matriarch.wav /ˈmeɪtɹiɑɹk/

Word forms

matriarch matriarchs

Etymology

Of Latin origin, via or reinforced by Old French matriarche, from Latin māter (“mother”) + -archa, -arches, from Ancient Greek -άρχης (-árkhēs), from ἀρχός (arkhós, “chief”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ergʰ- (“to begin, rule, command”). By surface analysis, matri- + -arch.

Synonyms

materfamilias

Antonyms

highfather paterfamilias patriarch

Related words

maternal matriarchal matriarchy matrimony matrimonial matron

Derived words

matriarchate matriarchism

Translations

Azerbaijani: anaxaqan Azerbaijani: ağbirçək Catalan: matriarca Chinese Mandarin: 女家長 /女家长 Corsican: matriarca Danish: matriark Dutch: aartsmoeder Dutch: matriarch Esperanto: matriarko Estonian: matriarh Faroese: ættarmóðir Finnish: matriarkka French: matriarche Friulian: matriarcje Georgian: მატრიარქი German: Matriarchin Hungarian: mátriárka Indonesian: matriark Irish: matrarc Italian: matriarca Japanese: 女家長 Māori: kahurangi Navajo: amá Norwegian Bokmål: matriark Norwegian Nynorsk: matriark Occitan: matriarca Portuguese: matriarca Romanian: matriarhă Russian: родонача́льница Russian: матриа́рх Scottish Gaelic: àrd-mhàthair Spanish: matriarca Swedish: matriark Turkish: anaerki Ukrainian: матріарх Unami: nikanixit xkwe
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