matriarch
Americannoun
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the female head of a family or tribal line.
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a woman who is the founder or dominant member of a community or group.
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a venerable old woman.
noun
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a woman who dominates an organization, community, etc
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the female head of a tribe or family, esp in a matriarchy
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a very old or venerable woman
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of matriarch
Explanation
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.
Vocabulary lists containing matriarch
Play by the Rules: Arch
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The Mother of All Lists: Mater, Matr
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It's All in the Family
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Eventually, of an estimated 30,000 people, only Shubbak's family remained, caring for the bedridden matriarch.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
The matriarch of the Mitford clan has been overshadowed by the glamorous daughters who caused her no small amount of grief.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
By the time she put the property on the market, the reality TV matriarch confirmed that she had moved out and into another estate she purchased in the same tony community of Hidden Hills.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 17, 2026
In Moira Rose, the matriarch of the Emmy-nominated “Schitt’s Creek,” Catherine O’Hara has found the role of a lifetime and created a character that hilariously redefines the term “fashion victim.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026
She was the matriarch of the family, and it was impossible to picture our lives without her.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
