patriarchate

From Middle French patriarcat, from Old French patriarcat, from Medieval Latin patriarchatus, from Ancient Greek πατριάρχης (patriárkhēs, “patriarch”). By surface analysis, patriarch +‎ -ate (forms nouns denoting rank or office, the concrete charge of it, a body of people involved with it).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpeɪtɹiɑːkət/, /ˈpætɹiɑːkət/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpeɪtɹiˌɑɹkət/, /ˈpeɪtɹiˌɑɹkeɪt/

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patriarchate (plural patriarchates)

1. A patriarchal system or community.
   • 1941, George Ryley Scott, Phallic Worship: A History of Sex and Sex Rites in Relation to the Religions of All Races from Antiquity to the Present Day, London: T. Werner Laurie, page 18:

     The rise of the patriarchate saw the overpowering of the female goddess by the male god. The moon-god gave place to the sun-god. The tables were turned with a vengeance. Not only was the male granted a share in the phenomenon of generation; he was given the main share.

2. (Christianity) The term of office of a Christian patriarch.

   The patriarchate of Pope John Paul II as Patriarch of the West was more than 25 years.

3. The office or ecclesial jurisdiction of such a patriarch.

   The Patriarchate of Constantinople has primacy over the whole of the Orthodox world.

4. The office-space occupied by a patriarch and his staff.

   The Latin patriarchate in Jerusalem is, by modern standards, a very cramped space.

(political science, politics): This term would describe a kind of polity.

• matriarchate