matriarchy
/ˈmeɪ.tɹiˌɑɹ.ki/noun
matriarchy is spelled M-A-T-R-I-A-R-C-H-Y: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 89,388th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, matriarchy means “A social system in which the mother is head of household, having authority over men and children, and lineage is traced through the female line” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of matriarchy is matriarchies.
How many letters and syllables are in matriarchy?
| Letters | 10: M-A-T-R-I-A-R-C-H-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 89,388th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is matriarchy?
Matriarchy appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 89,388th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce matriarchy?
- UK /ˈmeɪ.tɹiˌɑː.ki/
- US /ˈmeɪ.tɹiˌɑɹ.ki/
Matriarchy has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-matriarchy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of matriarchy
- matriarchies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does matriarchy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A social system in which the mother is head of household, having authority over men and children, and lineage is traced through the female line.
- 2
A system of government by women (particularly as a kind of polity).
- 3
The dominance of women in social or cultural systems.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Matriarchy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense social system:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | matriarcat |
| German | Matriarchat |
| Portuguese | matriarcado |
| Spanish | matriarcado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does matriarchy come from?
Coined after patriarchy, from Latin māter (“mother”) and Ancient Greek ἄρχω (árkhō, “to rule”). By surface analysis, matri- + -archy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).