Definition of "patriarchal" []

• Of, relating to, or characteristic of a patriarch. (adjective)
• Of or relating to a patriarchy: a patriarchal social system. (adjective)
• Ruled by a patriarch: a patriarchal see. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I'm torn between using the term patriarchal conspiracy and thinking of a term that's less likely to get me laughed of the internet"
• "Encouragement and support do they derive from James, in maintaining the "peculiar institution" which they call patriarchal, and boast of as the "corner-stone" of the republic?"
• "Encouragement and support do they derive from James, in maintaining the "peculiar institution" whence they derived their wealth, which they call patriarchal, and boast of as the "corner-stone" of the republic?"