matriarchy
/ˈmeɪ.tɹiˌɑɹ.ki/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.05 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
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.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "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."
Etymology
Coined after patriarchy, from Latin māter (“mother”) and Ancient Greek ἄρχω (árkhō, “to rule”). By surface analysis, matri- + -archy.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: māter, ἄρχω
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmeɪ.tɹiˌɑɹ.ki/
- British English: /ˈmeɪ.tɹiˌɑː.ki/