materfamilias

[mey-ter-fuh-mil-ee-uhs]

noun

1. the mother of a family.

materfamilias

/ ˌmeɪtəfəˈmɪlɪˌæs /

noun

1. the mother of a family or the female head of a family

Word History and Origins

Origin of materfamilias¹

First recorded in 1750–60; from Latin; paterfamilias

Word History and Origins

Origin of materfamilias¹

C18: from Latin

Example Sentences

The novel recounts the history and hardships of the Binewski clan, carnival folk whose pater- and materfamilias, Al and Crystal Lil, create their own freak show.

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If all you need from the new “Roseanne” is Ms. Barr’s materfamilias sarcasm, the crack team of comedy actors surrounding her and an update of the show’s working-class gallows humor, it has you covered.

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Either way, to read that final sentence is to detect a sulphurous whiff of Kardashian materfamilias Kris, who will have regarded the furore engulfing her daughter as a major injustice.

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She played the materfamilias Carol, the wife of Mike Brady, a man with three boys of his own.

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That loyalty can also be, at times, very foolish, to the extent where even Goodfellas materfamilias Karen Hill would question such irrational devotion.

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