I. ˈ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˌärkē, -ˌȧk-, -ki noun
( -es )
Etymology: Late Greek patriarchia, from Greek patriarchēs patriarch + -ia -y
1. obsolete : patriarchate 1
2.
a. : social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family in both domestic and religious functions, the legal dependence of wife or wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line
b. : a society so organized — compare matriarchy
II. noun
: a social system or society in which men have more power and control than women ; also : men viewed collectively as the dominant force in a society