matriarch

«matriarch» in Mova's school dictionary: a woman who is the head of a family or group, often the… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a matriarch, matriarchs)

meaning for a pupil

1) A matriarch is a woman who is the head of a family or group, often the oldest and most respected. tree →

2) In animal groups like elephants, the matriarch is the old female who leads the herd. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science, elephant herds are led by a matriarch who remembers where water is in drought. In family stories, the grandmother may be the matriarch whose word is law. Opposite: patriarch.

examples

• The matriarch led the elephants to the waterhole. tree →
• Granny is the matriarch of our family. tree →
• Everyone listened to the matriarch's advice. tree →
• Killer whale pods are led by matriarchs. tree →
• The old matriarch knew every path in the forest. tree →
• In the story, the matriarch ruled the family business. tree →

note

Pronounced «MAY-tree-ark». «Matri-» means mother. Opposite: patriarch.

In the corpora

• An elephant family is led by its oldest female, the matriarch, who remembers water holes, paths and dangers over decades.
• In a drought in Tanzania, herds with older matriarchs who remembered an earlier drought survived better.
• Elephant families walk behind the matriarch along old paths that lead to water, salt licks and fruit trees.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «matriarch» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.