Definition of materfamilias in English:
materfamilias
nounPlural matresfamilias ˌmeɪtəfəˈmɪlɪasˌmātərfəˈmilēəs
The female head of a family or household.
Compare with paterfamilias
Example sentencesExamples
- She shines as the materfamilias who has passed her navel-gazing tendencies to her daughters.
- The restaurant, whose kitchen is presided over by a distinguished-looking materfamilias, is one of those too-rare places where I order with confidence, knowing I will seldom be disappointed.
- It focuses on the relationship between materfamilias Diane and her daughter Love (herself a new mother), two strong-willed, articulate women, whose bond is strong but fraught with conflict.
- On visiting the Ancestral Perch last weekend, the pending ethics upgrade of our electricity was discussed with the materfamilias.
- The debut album's lead single is a guitar-driven sing along that recalls the flamboyant heyday of Elton John as it charts a champagne fueled evening out on the town with the materfamilias.
Origin
Latin, from mater 'mother' + familias, old genitive form of familia 'family'.