matriarchy

2 7.3

A society where women lead families and inheritance follows the mother's line

noun
/ˈmeɪtriˌɑrki/

: matriarcado

Among the indigo, although the matriarchy controlled the pattern of life, men were cherished and valued.
matriarchy theory

Examples

Here it's a matriarchy, such a beautiful thing.

Fiction book (1997)
Tell me a story, he asked, about the days of matriarchy.

Fiction book (1996)
Today, some remnants of Vedic matriarchy exist in the southern part of India.

Academic text (2004)
An ancient European matriarchy shimmers, one which allegedly worshipped "the Goddess."

Academic text (1996)
In the matriarchy of the village, the oldest woman made all the important decisions for the community.
During the matriarchy, inheritance was passed down through the mother's side of the family.
Some indigenous cultures have a matriarchy where women hold significant power in social and economic matters.

Synonyms

matriarchate

vsmatriarchy

9.4

A social system where women lead the family or group and property passes through the mother's line

is the same meaning but expressed as an alternative form

gynarchy

vsmatriarchy

9.9

A government where women have the main power

is about family or community leadership and female-line descent

Antonyms

patriarchy

31 7.0

A system where men have most power in family and public life

How Female-Led

matriarchy

2 7.3

womanpower

4.4

egalitarianism

6 7.9

patriarchy

31 7.0

Surface Forms

matriarchy singular

matriarchies plural

Morphology

matriarchy = matriarch (transparent) = matriarch + y

Formed from the familiar word 'matriarch' with the suffix '-y' to denote a system or condition, so the meaning is directly inferable from the base.

Etymology

Matriarchy comes from parts meaning 'mother' and 'rule': matri- from the Latin 'mater' meaning 'mother' and -archy meaning 'rule', the same ending as in monarchy. So, a matriarchy is a society where mothers or women have the main power.