noun
- descent or kinship traced through the mother's line rather than the father's line
Usage: anthropology; also called matrilineal descent
Examples
- In matrilineage systems, children belong to their mother's family group rather than their father's.
- Many Indigenous cultures in the Pacific Northwest practice matrilineage, passing property and titles through female relatives.
- The anthropologist studied how matrilineage affects inheritance rights in the society.
- Under matrilineage, a person's clan membership is determined by their mother's clan.
- Some African societies maintain matrilineage traditions despite colonial influences.
- Matrilineage differs significantly from patrilineage in how family identity is established.