materfamilias
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of materfamilias
First recorded in 1750–60; from Latin; cf. paterfamilias
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.
The film earned five Oscar nominations, including a best supporting actress nod for the veteran Billie Burke as the materfamilias of a wealthy but wacky family.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
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.
From Washington Post • Nov. 11, 2022
That loyalty can also be, at times, very foolish, to the extent where even Goodfellas materfamilias Karen Hill would question such irrational devotion.
From The Guardian • Oct. 11, 2016
Presiding with placid indifference over this freakish scene is the materfamilias, Paige, played by Kristine Nielsen, here giving what I can only call the Ultimate Extreme Kristine Nielsen Performance.
From New York Times • Nov. 8, 2015
He was paterfamilias, she materfamilias; and the rooms assigned to her peculiar use were, as with us, the best in the house.
From Caricature and Other Comic Art in all Times and many Lands. by Parton, James
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.
