matriarchyn.
/ˈmeɪtrɪɑːki/, U.S. /ˈmeɪtriˌɑrki/ A form of social organization in which the mother or oldest female is the head of the family, and descent and relationship are reckoned through the female line; government or rule by a woman or women. Also (in Cultural Anthropology): a culture or community in which such a system prevails; a family, society, organization, etc., dominated by a woman or women.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > rule or government of family or tribe > [noun] > matriarchy or matriarchalism
mother-right1881
matriarchalism1884
matriarchate1884
matriarchy1885
metrocracy1888
society > society and the community > customs, values, and civilization > a civilization or culture > [noun] > other types of civilizations or cultures > system of
matriarchy1885
patrimonialism1942
1885 Athenæum 21 Mar. 379/3 Mr. J. W. Redhouse made a few remarks with reference to a paper he has prepared for the Journal of the Society..‘On Matriarchy, or Mother Right’.
1892 G. L. Gomme Ethnol. in Folklore 131 The principle of matriarchy is more primitive than that of patriarchy.
1895 T. Hardy Jude iv. iv. 290 ‘I don't see why the woman and the children should not be the unit without the man.’ ‘By the Lord Harry!—Matriarchy!’
1907 Q. Rev. July 195 Matriarchy, or rule of the mother, is not to be confused with mother-right, or rule through the mother.
1949 M. Mead Male & Female xv. 301 It has been fashionable in the last few years to call America a matriarchy.
1965 H. P. Lundin tr. ‘H. Diner’ Mothers & Amazons xxv. 283 Matriarchy prevailed in the most advanced and the most ancient city cultures—pre-Aryan India, Egypt, [etc.].
1988 Washington Post 24 Apr. G6/3 Weldon was raised in a matriarchy, sharing a household with her mother, her sister and her grandmother.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1885