patriarchy

pa·tri·ar·chy

noun \-ˌär-kē\

: a family, group, or government controlled by a man or a group of men

: a social system in which family members are related to each other through their fathers

plural pa·tri·ar·chies

Full Definition of PATRIARCHY

1

:  social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line; broadly :  control by men of a disproportionately large share of power

2

:  a society or institution organized according to the principles or practices of patriarchy

Examples of PATRIARCHY

1. For 20 years, the country was ruled as a patriarchy.
2. a region in which patriarchy is practiced

First Known Use of PATRIARCHY

1632

Other Anthropology Terms

ectomorph, ethnography, prehistory, yurt

Rhymes with PATRIARCHY

matriarchy, oligarchy