Materfamilias

Materfamilias is a noun that refers to the female head of the household. Our word is a combination of two Latin words. Mater (MAH ter) meaning ‘mother,’ and familia (fa MEEL ee uh) meaning ‘family.’ Together they give us a word for a female who heads the household. As the materfamilias of a large Greek family, my mother knows a great deal about how to manage people who can be a little wild.