matriarch
Other forms: matriarchs
Rose Kennedy was the matriarch of the Kennedy clan — she was the female head of the family. This noun can also be used metaphorically. For instance, Alice Waters could be called the matriarch of Chez Panisse and the generation of chefs that her revolutionary restaurant inspired.
Although matriarch was created as a parallel term to patriarch, this eighteenth-century new creation was based on a false etymology. Although patri- might look related to the Latin pater "father," it actually comes from the Greek patria "family." Presumably, it was assumed that such a person would be a man. In any case, patriarch has come to mean the male head of a family or clan, while matriarch is used if the head of a family or clan is female.
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a female head of a family or tribe
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synonyms:
materfamilias
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type of:
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head of household
the head of a household or family or tribe
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adult female, woman
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
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head of household
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a feisty older woman with a big bosom (as drawn in cartoons)
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type of:
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adult female, woman
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
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adult female, woman
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Vocabulary lists containing matriarch
Although ten-year-old Comfort Snowberger grew up in a family that runs a funeral parlor, she must learn to confront the feelings of loss after death suddenly hits close to home.
In this magical adaptation of the tale of Paul Bunyan, a young Chinese immigrant works at a logging camp in the late 1800s.
Central Essay, Chapter 11
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