matriarch

noun

Etymology: Of Latin origin, via or reinforced by Old French matriarche, from Latin māter (“mother”) + -archa, -arches, from Ancient Greek -άρχης (-árkhēs), from ἀρχός (arkhós, “chief”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ergʰ- (“to begin, rule, command”). By surface analysis, matri- + -arch.

1. A female leader of a family, a tribe or an ethnic or religious group.

   “This female hyena also gets erections and is larger, more aggressive than the male hyenas and lives in matrilineal clans of up to 80 individuals governed by an alpha female matriarch.”

2. A female leader of a family, a tribe or an ethnic or religious group.
3. A female leader of a family, a tribe or an ethnic or religious group.

   “A typical Lancashire matriarch ushers the reassured townsfolk off the premises, confident that her money is safe: 'You don't deserve any business doubting t' Co-op. It's sound enough, and them that doubt it ought to be ashamed of themselves.'”

   “Although the drummer has no musical segments in the film, he remains a central visual presence, inevitably accompanied—and visually framed—by his aunt, the stereotypically loud, forceful, and domineering northern matriarch.”

4. A female founder of a political or religious movement, an organization or an enterprise.