Definition of "matrilinear" []

• Based on or tracing descent through the female line (adjective)

WordNet. Princeton University. 2010.

• "It is a matrilinear society, you are part of your mother's clan."
• "The emphasis on Pictish matrilinear succession was a Victorian product."
• "They wanted to portray the Picts as alien as possible just look at the paintings of stark naked Picts with tattoes everywhere, and since male succession was the norm in most of known history, matrilinear looked pretty exotic."