Dictionary
ma•tri•ar•chy
Pronunciation: (mā'trē-är"kē), [key]—
n.,
—pl. -chies.
1. a family, society, community, or state governed by women.
2. a form of social organization in which the mother is head of the family, and in which descent is reckoned in the female line, the children belonging to the mother's clan; matriarchal system.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.