Dictionary

materfamilias en · NOUN

Etymology

From Latin māter familiās (“mother of the household”).

Meanings

1. The female head of a household.
   • That my old-country materfamilias is actually Chinese--Mandarin Chinese, yet--is a negligible discrepancy. 1990 June 1, Mary Shen Barnidge, “Who Killed the Dragon Lady”, in Chicago Reader:
   • Anyway, attendees for the hen weekend included fellow astronaut Katy Perry, the two most prestigious Kardashians – Kim and materfamilias Kris Jenner – as well as Eva Longoria, who travelled onward to Cannes to present Lauren with last night’s humanitarian award. 2025 May 20, Marina Hyde, “Was this a hen do or a humanitarian mission to liberate Paris? Either way, give Lauren Sánchez an award”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • The materfamilias and her daughters do a good deal of the housework, and even open the front door on occasion. 1903, Luigi Villari, Italian Life in Town and Country, pages 110–111:

Forms

Coordinates

paterfamilias

Synonyms

matriarch