mat·ri·lin·e·al

(măt′rə-lĭn′ē-əl)

adj.

Relating to, based on, or tracing ancestral descent through the maternal line.

mat′ri·lin′e·al·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

matrilineal

(ˌmætrɪˈlɪnɪəl; ˌmeɪ-)

adj

(Anthropology & Ethnology) relating to descent or kinship through the female line

ˌmatriˈlineally adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mat•ri•lin•e•al

(ˌmæ trəˈlɪn i əl, ˌmeɪ-)

also mat`ri•lin′e•ar,

adj.

tracing, signifying, or based upon descent through the female line.

Compare patrilineal.

[1900–05]

mat`ri•lin′e•al•ly, adv.

matrilineal

1. Used to describe a society in which descent is traced through women.

2. Tracing descent through the mother’s line.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.

matrilineal - based on or tracing descent through the female line; "matrilineal inheritance"

matrilinear

lineal, direct - in a straight unbroken line of descent from parent to child; "lineal ancestors"; "lineal heirs"; "a direct descendant of the king"; "direct heredity"

Translations

mat·ri·lin·e·al

a. de línea materna, descendiente de la madre.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

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References in periodicals archive

Since that argument in turn largely draws on comparative studies of 'matrilineal' societies, it is obvious that the strength of Schroter's conclusions depends on whether or not the Ngadha--according to accepted criteria--can be said to be matrilineal.

Unilineal descent and the house--again: the Ngadha, eastern Indonesia

The teacher spirits of the core members are mostly traditional spirits, such as the guardian spirit of the village (phi sua ban), the matrilineal ancestor spirit (phi pu ya), or the tutelary spirits of the traditional city state (phi sua muang), and there are a number of superior spirits of the ruling class who deliver divine messages (phi chao nai).

A ritual community: the religious practices of spirit mediums who worship the spirit of the Chiang Mai city pillar

Of related significance are "matrilineal descent systems" and matrilineal societies that "embodied an idea of social organization that privileged the personal and social power of women," as well as African societies that had patrilineal forms of organization.

Sheldon, Kathleen. Historical Dictionary of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Makonde are matrilineal. Legend says that their first sculpture was carved by a man of a woman.

Carvers of the Makonde of Tanzania

She may be the ugly aspect of the matrilineal spiritual base of all societies.

The People's Nauroz

The region was matrilineal, noncentralized, and unsuited to indirect rule.

Becoming Muslim in Mainland Tanzania, 1890-2000

They followed the matrilineal system of property inheritance.

Pioneering book on Eo,e1/4Y[pounds sterling]History of BuntsEo,e1/4,ao released

Elements of original African culture (e.g., the trance states stemming from possession by the spirits; matrilineal family systems; survival of a gift culture) continued in Brazil, but agricultural gods died out among slaves who did not own and farm their own land.

The African Religions of Brazil: Toward a Sociology of the Interpenetration of Civilizations

A major problem is that, despite their improved land tenure rights, widows remain vulnerable to losing important household and agricultural assets to relatives of their deceased husbands through the practice of "property-grabbing", which is justified by reference to matrilineal inheritance practices.

Investigating women's land rights

European men intermarried into Creek societies, and children of intermarriage would obtain status through matrilineal kinship systems.

Andrew K. Frank. Creeks and Southerners: Biculturalism on the Early American Frontier

Khasi women in India give children their names, and girls inherit family property in matrilineal communities.

Celebrating Women