n.
Pronunciation: - ˌ är-k ē
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -chies
Date: 1632
1 : social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line broadly : control by men of a disproportionately large share of power
2 : a society or institution organized according to the principles or practices of patriarchy