materfamilias

ma·ter·fa·mil·i·as

M0149100 (mā′tər-fə-mĭl′ē-əs)n. A woman who is the head of a household or the mother of a family.

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[Latin māterfamiliās : māter, mother; see mater + familiās, archaic genitive of familia, household; see family.]

materfamilias

(ˌmeɪtəfəˈmɪlɪˌæs) n, pl matresfamilias (ˌmeɪtreɪzfəˈmɪlɪˌæs) the mother of a family or the female head of a family[C18: from Latin]

ma•ter•fa•mil•i•as

(ˌmeɪ tər fəˈmɪl i əs)

n. the mother of a family. [1750–60; < Latin]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

materfamilias - a female head of a family or tribe matriarchhead of household - the head of a household or family or tribeadult female, woman - an adult female person (as opposed to a man); "the woman kept house while the man hunted"