matrilineal

American  

[ma-truh-lin-ee-uhl, mey-] / ˌmæ trəˈlɪn i əl, ˌmeɪ- /

Also matrilinear

adjective

1. inheriting or determining descent through the female line.

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matrilineal British  

/ ˌmeɪ-, ˌmætrɪˈlɪnɪəl /

adjective

1. relating to descent or kinship through the female line

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matrilineal Cultural  

1. Tracing kinship and descent through the female line. (Compare patrilineal.)

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Other Word Forms

• matrilineally
  adverb
• matrilinearly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of matrilineal

First recorded in 1900–05; matri- + lineal

Compare meaning

How does matrilineal compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• matrilineal vs. patrilineal

Explanation

Matrilineal refers to familial relationships that can be traced through a female. To follow the matrilineal line in your family, start with your mom. In Latin, matri- refers to the mother, just as patri- refers to the father. Lineal is a word that refers to someone's lineage, or the line of people that came before that person; so the adjective matrilineal describes anything related to kinship through a female line. If the children in your culture take their mother's last name, and not their father's, this is a matrilineal tradition.

Example Sentences

Matrilineal avuncularity is known from a few ethnographic and historical examples, he notes, such as the Iroquois of North America, and is often unrelated to concerns about female fidelity.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 3, 2024