noun.
A woman who dominates a group or an activity.
noun.
A highly respected woman who is a mother.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
noun.
The wife of a patriarch.
noun.
A woman who holds (to some extent or in some respect) in a family or tribe a position analogous to that of a patriarch. See matriarchy.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
noun.
The mother and ruler of a family or of her descendants; a ruler by maternal right.
noun.
A woman who dominates or is the most important member of a group or organization; in businesses, often the founder or owner of the largest interest.
noun.
A female leader of a family, a tribe or an ethnic or religious group.
noun.
A female founder of a political or religious movement, an organization or an enterprise.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
noun.
a feisty older woman with a big bosom (as drawn in cartoons)
noun.
a female head of a family or tribe
Word Usage
"The word matriarch could have been coined to describe my mother: now 89, she is the last living child of her parents, mother of five adult children, grandmother of 12 and has recently acquired three great-granddaughters."