matriarchy
noun
ma·tri·ar·chy ˈmā-trē-ˌär-kē 
plural matriarchies
1
: a family, group, or state governed by a matriarch
2
: a system of social organization in which descent and inheritance are traced through the female line
Example Sentences
For 20 years, the country was ruled as a matriarchy. a region in which matriarchy is practiced
Recent Examples on the Web There is a strong sense of matriarchy in this film. 
Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 18 May 2022 In a matriarchy he would be legally required to wear sweaters that show off his collar and hip bones at all times. Jenny Singer, Glamour, 15 May 2022 Family and matriarchy is the theme of this Disney film, perfect to watch for Mother’s Day. oregonlive, 7 May 2022 Another was to seek out support within a Black matriarchy of family and friends. New York Times, 17 Feb. 2022 Comilang turns the primordial, otherworldly landscape of Bohol into the motherland of a future, fugitive matriarchy, referencing how the Philippine islands were ruled equally between genders before Spanish colonization. Alex Quicho, Wired, 9 Jan. 2022 Her finished image of the running Virgin was part of a larger triptych that celebrates working-class Chicanas of different ages and body types — and the idea of matriarchy itself. New York Times, 18 Sep. 2021 Women enjoy the status of goddesses until one, Desirée, does something that threatens their imperious matriarchy. John Hopewell, Variety, 14 Sep. 2021 This is the rare movie to deal with the matriarchy that dominates black American culture. Armond White, National Review, 7 July 2021 See More
Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 18 May 2022 In a matriarchy he would be legally required to wear sweaters that show off his collar and hip bones at all times. Jenny Singer, Glamour, 15 May 2022 Family and matriarchy is the theme of this Disney film, perfect to watch for Mother’s Day. oregonlive, 7 May 2022 Another was to seek out support within a Black matriarchy of family and friends. New York Times, 17 Feb. 2022 Comilang turns the primordial, otherworldly landscape of Bohol into the motherland of a future, fugitive matriarchy, referencing how the Philippine islands were ruled equally between genders before Spanish colonization. Alex Quicho, Wired, 9 Jan. 2022 Her finished image of the running Virgin was part of a larger triptych that celebrates working-class Chicanas of different ages and body types — and the idea of matriarchy itself. New York Times, 18 Sep. 2021 Women enjoy the status of goddesses until one, Desirée, does something that threatens their imperious matriarchy. John Hopewell, Variety, 14 Sep. 2021 This is the rare movie to deal with the matriarchy that dominates black American culture. Armond White, National Review, 7 July 2021 See More Word History
First Known Use
1885, in the meaning defined at sense 1