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# 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/matriarch/#m1)

2) In animal groups like elephants, the matriarch is the old female who leads the herd. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/matriarch/#m2)

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/matriarch/#x1)
- Granny is the matriarch of our family. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/matriarch/#x2)
- Everyone listened to the matriarch's advice. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/matriarch/#x3)
- Killer whale pods are led by matriarchs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/matriarch/#x4)
- The old matriarch knew every path in the forest. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/matriarch/#x5)
- In the story, the matriarch ruled the family business. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/matriarch/#x6)

### 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.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/236-animal-minds-elephants-memory-feelings-and-the-mouse-myth/1/)
- [In a drought in Tanzania, herds with older matriarchs who remembered an earlier drought survived better.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/236-animal-minds-elephants-memory-feelings-and-the-mouse-myth/5/)
- [Elephant families walk behind the matriarch along old paths that lead to water, salt licks and fruit trees.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/236-animal-minds-elephants-memory-feelings-and-the-mouse-myth/13/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «matriarch» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/matriarch/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.