matriarch Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a female head of a family or tribe
    materfamilias.
  2. noun a feisty older woman with a big bosom (as drawn in cartoons)

WordNet

Ma"tri*arch noun
Etymology
L. mater mother + -arch.
Definitions
  1. The mother and ruler of a family or of her descendants; a ruler by maternal right.

Webster 1913