female lineage
Ancestry through mothers
Female lineage traces descent through mothers rather than fathers—from daughter to mother to grandmother and beyond.
The term appears in genetics, genealogy, and anthropology: Mitochondrial DNA passes through the female lineage.
Some societies organize kinship, inheritance, and family names along the female lineage, a system called matrilineality.
- matrilinealDescended through maternal line
- old wivesElderly women passing lore
- progenitressFemale originator of lineage
- matriarchyFemale-dominated social system
- clan mothersWomen governing family lineages
mother's side · mitochondrial DNA · oral histories · genetic inheritance · hereditary traits · family tree · birth mothers · kinship · ancestral records · cultural anthropology · ancestral spirits · goddess worship · ancient civilizations · fertility symbols · creation myths · sacred feminine · dowager · gender dynamics
- matrilineal kinshipmatriarch, clan mother, clan mothers, maternal bloodline, maternal side