A woman having the status corresponding to that of a patriarch, in any sense of the word.

Of or pertaining to a matriarch or to maternal rule; pertaining to, of the nature of, or based on matriarchy.

A matriarchal community or system.

That form of social organization in which the mother, and not the father, is the head of the family, and in which descent and relationship are reckoned through mothers and not through fathers.

In early use, a sole and absolute ruler of a state. In modern use, a sovereign bearing the title of king, queen, emperor, or empress, or the equivalent of one of these.

Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of a monarchy; that is under the dominion of a monarch.

1. Of a government: Having the characteristics of a monarchy. Now rare; usually replaced by monarchical.
2. Of or belonging to a monarchy; pertaining to or favoring monarchy as a form of government.

1. Of the nature of or having the characteristics of a monarchy; esp. of government, vested in a monarch.
2. Of or pertaining to monarchy; consisting of advocates of monarchy as a form of government.
3. Having the power or functions of a monarch; having undivided rule; autocratic.

The principles of monarchical government; attachment to monarchy or the monarchical principle.

1. Undivided rule by a single person; sole rule or sovereignty; absolute power.
2. A state having a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in a single person. Formerly, also, a nation or state having dominating power over all other states.

A commander of ten thousand men.

Government by ten thousand rulers.

The commander of a fleet; an admiral.

A province, or department, in modern Greece.

A government by eight rulers; an aggregate of eight tribal or petty kingdoms each under its own ruler: applied by some historians (instead of heptarchy) to the eight kingdoms reckoned by them to have been established by the Angles and Saxons in Britain.

member of an oligarchy; one of a few holding power in a state.

Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of an oligarchy; carried on, administered or governed by an oligarchy; supporting or advocating oligarchy.

Government by the few; a form of government in which the power is confined to a few persons or families; also, the body of persons composing such a government.

A ruler of all things.

The rule or government by a child or children.

1. A state in which the rule of government is vested in all the people.
2. Rule over the entire (all) the universe.

Papal rule or sovereignty; government by a pope.

1. The father and ruler of a family or tribe; specifically in the New Testament, and uses derived from there, the twelve sons of Jacob, from whom the tribes of Israel were descended; also, the fathers of the race, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their forefathers.
2. The title of the bishops of the four patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, the Patriarch of Constantinople being the Head of the Church or Ecumenical Patriarch. Also the title of the heads of the other Eastern Churches, as the Abyssinian, Armenian, Jacobite, and Coptic.
3. In the Roman Catholic Church; a bishop second only to the pope in episcopal, and to the pope and cardinals in hierarchical rank, and next above primates and metropolitans. The title of the Latin bishops of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem; also, of those of the three minor patriarchates, the Indies, Lisbon, and Venice.
4. One who is regarded as the father or founder of an order, institution, or tradition, or (by extension) of a science, school of thought, or the like.
5. A venerable old man; especially, the oldest man, the “father” of a village or neighbourhood; the veteran or oldest living representative of a class, profession, art, or such.

Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of the ancient patriarchs, or of the patriarchal system of government; like a patriarch.

1. The government of a church by a patriarch or patriarchs.
2. A patriarchal system of society or government; government by the father or the eldest male of the family; a family, tribe, or community so organized.
3. A society organized with the father or oldest male as head, with descent through the male line.

1. The ruler of one of a group of five districts or kingdoms.
2. One of a governing body of five persons.

1. A government by five rulers; a group of five districts or kingdoms each under its own ruler.
2. The government of a country or district by a body of five persons; a governing body of five.

The chief or ruler of a phyle or tribe in ancient Greece; hence, a tribal chief generally.

Tribal government.

The rule or dominion by wealthy people; plutocracy.

A governor of citizens; the title of civic magistrates in some Oriental cities; such as, Thessalonica, under the Romans.

The rule of the multitude; government by the mob.

The government of a state or city by many: contrasted with monarchy.

One of seven rulers.

Sovereignty wielded by seven rulers.

1. The collective body of squires, landed proprietors, or country gentry; the class to which squires belong, regarded especially in respect of its political or social influence.
2. Rule or government by a squire or squires.

The system of rule in an army (officers, non-commissioned officers, and subordinate military enlistees).

Joint rule or sovereignty; participation in government by people with their rulers.

One of four joint rulers, directors, or heads.

A government by four persons jointly; a set of four tetrarchs or rulers; a country divided into four petty governments.

1. The rule or government of God or of a god; a theocracy.
2. An order or system of deities.

The ruler or prince of a small district, city, or petty state; a petty “king”.

1. Small state consisting of a few towns.
2. The small district or territory under the rule of a toparch.

The title of the captain of the city-guard of mercenaries at Athens.

The ruler of one of three divisions of a country or territory.

1. Government by three rulers or powers jointly; three persons associated in government, a triumvirate.
2. A group of three districts or divisions of a country each under its own ruler. Sometimes: tritarchy (obsolete and rare).