matriarchate

[ mey-tree-ahr-kit, -keyt ]

/ ˈmeɪ triˌɑr kɪt, -keɪt /

noun

a matriarchal system or community.

a social order formerly believed to have preceded patriarchal tribal society in the early period of human communal life, embodying rule by the mothers, or by all adult women.

Words nearby matriarchate

matr-, matralia, matrass, matri-, matriarch, matriarchate, matriarchy, matric, matrical, matrices, matricide

Origin of matriarchate

First recorded in 1880–85; matriarch + -ate³

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for matriarchate

During the Matriarchate all life was regarded as holy; even the sacrifice of animals was unknown.
Woman, Church & State|Matilda Joslyn Gage
The ship, or ark, is peculiarly significative of the feminine principle, and wherever found is a reminiscence of the Matriarchate.
Woman, Church & State|Matilda Joslyn Gage
A form of society existed at an early age known as the Matriarchate or Mother-rule.
Woman, Church & State|Matilda Joslyn Gage
We have already shown that this right of the first night was a custom which had its origin in the time of the matriarchate.
Woman and Socialism|August Bebel

Thus the matriarchate was evolved that for a long time constituted the foundation of family relations and inheritance.
Woman and Socialism|August Bebel

British Dictionary definitions for matriarchate

matriarchate

/ (ˈmeɪtrɪˌɑːkɪt, -keɪt) /

noun

rare a family or people under female domination or government

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012