different between matron vs matriarch

English

Etymology

From Middle English matrone, from Old French matrone, from Latin m?tr?na (“married woman”), from m?ter (“mother”). Doublet of matrona.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?me?t??n/
• Rhymes: -e?t??n

Noun

matron (plural matrons)

1. A mature or elderly woman.

   • grave from her cradle, insomuch that she was a matron before she was a mother

2. A wife or a widow, especially, one who has borne children.
3. A woman of staid or motherly manners.
   • “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, […].

4. A housekeeper, especially, a woman who manages the domestic economy of a public institution.
5. A senior female nurse in an establishment, especially a hospital or school.

6. (US) A female prison officer.

Derived terms

Related terms

• matrona
• matroneum

Translations

References

matron in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Anagrams

• Marton, Morant, Rotman, romant

English

Etymology

Of Latin origin, via or reinforced by Old French matriarche, from Latin m?ter (“mother”) + -archa, -arches, from Ancient Greek -????? (-árkh?s), from ????? (arkhós, “chief”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h?erg?- (“to begin, rule, command”). Surface analysis matri- +? -arch.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?me?t?????k/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?me?t(?)?i??k/

Noun

matriarch (plural matriarchs)

1. A female leader of a family, a tribe or an ethnic or religious group.
   1. The dominant female in a family group of elephants
2. A female founder of a political or religious movement, an organization or an enterprise.

Synonyms

• materfamilias

Antonyms

• highfather
• paterfamilias
• patriarch

Related terms

Translations

Dutch

Pronunciation

Noun

matriarch f (plural matriarchen, diminutive matriarchje n, masculine patriarch)

1. matriarch

Related terms