Patriarchal

Characteristic of a form of social organization in which the male is the family head and title is traced through the male line. This characteristic developed in human society as it made the gradual switch to agriculture from more equal hunting and gathering societies. It one of the examples of inequality between men and women. One example of a trait found in patriarchal societies is that the society might be patrilineal.



Source: [|wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn] Created by: Stephen Puckette August 29 2008 Edited by Kelly Herring (September 2, 2008)