Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1600-1700
Origin: matri- + -arch (as in patriarch)

matriarch

 noun
     
Related topics: Women
ma‧tri‧arch [countable]
SSW a woman, especially an older woman, who controls a family or a social group [↪ patriarch]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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