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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

matriarchy en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈmeɪ.tɹiˌɑɹ.ki/ (General-American)
  • /ˈmeɪ.tɹiˌɑː.ki/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Coined after patriarchy, from Latin māter (“mother”) and Ancient Greek ἄρχω (árkhō, “to rule”). By surface analysis, matri- + -archy.

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) A social system in which the mother is head of household, having authority over men and children, and lineage is traced through the female line.
    • The difficulty is that when a man thinks of matriarchy, he thinks of a patriarchy with women in the place of men; he does not stop to consider that matriarchy may be a complete mirror-image. Where patriarchy establishes law, matriarchy establishes custom; where patriarchy establishes military power, matriarchy establishes religious authority; where patriarchy encourages the aresteia of the individual warrior, matriarchy encourages the tradition-bound cohesion of the collective. When, therefore, one envisions a matriarchy, one should not conjure up visions of a gang of Amazons lopping off breasts and testicles to rule by force of arms. 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 149:
  2. (countable, uncountable) A system of government by women (particularly as a kind of polity).
  3. (countable, uncountable) The dominance of women in social or cultural systems.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
matriarchies Number=Plur lexicographic

Antonyms

patriarchy

Deriveds

matriarchial · matriarchist

Relateds

matriarchal · patriarchy

Synonyms

matriarchate · gynecocracy · gynarchy

Translations (51)

ja 家母長制 (social system) · ro matriarhat (system of government) · hi मातृसत्ता (system of government) · az anaxaqanlıq (social system) · ko 모권제 (social system) · uk матріарха́т (system of government) · eo matriarĥeco (system of government) · pt matriarcado (system of government) · ja 母権 (social system) · ko 모권 (social system) · eo matriarkeco (social system) · ar الأمومية (social system) · fi matriarkia (system of government) · az matriarxat (social system) · ru матриарха́т (social system) · hu matriarchátus (social system) · cs matriarchát (social system) · cmn 母權 /母权 (social system) · ky энебийлик (system of government) · el μητριαρχία (system of government) · pl matriarchat (social system) · pt matriarcado (social system) · fi naisvalta (social system) · fi naisvalta (system of government) · eo matriarkeco (system of government) · gl matriarcado (social system) · gl matriarcado (system of government) · de Matriarchat (social system) · ro matriarhat (social system) · th มาตาธิปไตย (system of government) · cs matriarchát (system of government) · ru матриарха́т (system of government) · kk матриархат (social system) · fr matriarcat (social system) · es matriarcado (social system) · es matriarcado (system of government) · bg матриарха́т (social system) · hi मातृसत्ता (social system) · kk матриархат (system of government) · el μητριαρχία (social system) · sv matriarkat (social system) · it matriarcato (social system) · eo matriarĥeco (social system) · ca matriarcat (social system) · cmn 母權制 /母权制 (social system) · fi matriarkia (social system) · ky энебийлик (social system) · pl matriarchat (system of government) · tr anaerki (social system) · ja 母権制 (social system) · th มาตาธิปไตย (social system)