Patriarchate

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Patriarchate \Pa`tri*ar"chate\ (p[=a]`tr[i^]*[aum]r"k[asl]t), n.
     [Cf. F. patriarcat.]
     1. The office, dignity, or jurisdiction of a patriarch.
        --Jer. Taylor.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. The residence of an ecclesiastic patriarch.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Ethnol.) A patriarchal form of government or society. See
        {Patriarchal}, a., 3.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  patriarchate
       n 1: the jurisdiction of a patriarch
       2: a form of social organization in which a male is the family
          head and title is traced through the male line [syn: {patriarchy}]