Meanings
plural patrilineages
- countableuncountableLineage based upon the paternal line; a group of descendants related through a common male lineage.
1 more example
By 1770, the Xhosa branch of the Nguni-speakers were organised at three levels: patrilineages, consisting of the descendants of a known common ancestor; patriclans, composed of a number of lineages, all claiming descent from a putative common ancestor; and chiefdoms which were political units, each occupying a certain area under a chief.
1979, Richard Elphic, Hermann Giliommee, editors, The shaping of South African Society 1652-1820, Longman, page 294Antonyms: matrilineage
Synonyms & antonyms
nounLineage based upon the paternal line; a group of descendants related through a common male lineage.
More synonyms by meaning
nounline of descent traced through the paternal side of the family
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
French patrilignage
- patrilignageTranslations
Italian patrilignaggio
- patrilignaggioTranslations
Cite this entry
patrilineage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patrilineage
“patrilineage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patrilineage. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “patrilineage,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patrilineage.
Source: patrilineage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.