matriarch
/ˈmeɪtɹiɑɹk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.71 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A female founder of a political or religious movement, an organization or an enterprise.
Example Sentences
- "This female hyena also gets erections and is larger, more aggressive than the male hyenas and lives in matrilineal clans of up to 80 individuals governed by an alpha female matriarch."
- "A typical Lancashire matriarch ushers the reassured townsfolk off the premises, confident that her money is safe: 'You don't deserve any business doubting t' Co-op. It's sound enough, and them that doubt it ought to be ashamed of themselves.'"
- "Although the drummer has no musical segments in the film, he remains a central visual presence, inevitably accompanied—and visually framed—by his aunt, the stereotypically loud, forceful, and domineering northern matriarch."
- "Cornelius Hazelwood – naturally I gave him a name – saw to it that Felix could tell his prime numbers from his square roots. Then Beryl Swinehodge, an imperious Yorkshire matriarch, rolled up to test him on food pyramids."
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.
Origin
- Source language: Old French
Word Breakdown
- Root: matriarche, māter, -άρχης, *h₂ergʰ-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmeɪtɹiɑɹk/
- British English: /ˈmeɪtɹɪˌɑːk/