matrilineal
adjective
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A person's lineage is his or her line of ancestors. So matrilineal means basically "through the mother's line", just as patrilineal means "through the father's line". Matrilineality is an important concept in anthropology; among other things, it usually determines who will inherit property on a person's death. Though families that follow the European model take the father's name and are therefore patrilineal, matrilineal societies have existed around the world, including among various American Indian tribes.
Examples of matrilineal in a Sentence
Mary Hudetz, ProPublica, 20 July 2023
Simpson, who was born and raised and still lives and works in Santa Clara Pueblo, N.M., comes from a long matrilineal line of ceramists—as in, 70 generations.
—Julie Belcove, Robb Report, 24 Feb. 2024
The three matrilineal pods of southern resident whales — J pod, K pod and L pod — each communicate in their own specific dialect, and all are exceptionally bonded to their mothers.
—Caitlin Gibson, Washington Post, 5 Dec. 2023
News headlines seized on the finding that the Ancestral Puebloans shared a matrilineal line.
—Mary Hudetz, ProPublica, 20 July 2023
Her practice — which includes printmaking, painting and collaging — explores her Chicano heritage and Ashkenazi Jewish matrilineal line.
—Steven Vargas, Los Angeles Times, 29 Nov. 2023
Female elephants and killer whales can live into their 80s in matrilineal societies, comprising up to four generations of mothers and offspring.
—Bridget Alex, Discover Magazine, 6 Feb. 2020
Previous research has identified at least 160 matrilineal populations that exist today.
—Eliza Anyangwe and Melissa Mahtani, CNN, 3 Aug. 2023
When no takers could be found in Japan, a five-alarm alert went up throughout the international community to save these members of the only group of primates whose behavior and matrilineal lines had been studied for over a decade.
—Carolyn Wells, Longreads, 26 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'matrilineal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Matrilineal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/matrilineal. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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matrilineal
adjective
ˌmā-
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