Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Patriarchate \Pa`tri*ar"chate\ (p>amac/`tr[i^]*[aum]r"k[asl]t),
   n. [Cf. F. patriarcat.]
   1. The office, dignity, or jurisdiction of a patriarch.
      --Jer. Taylor.

   2. The residence of an ecclesiastic patriarch.

   3. (Ethnol.) A patriarchal form of government or society. See
      {Patriarchal}, a., 3.

Source : WordNet®

patriarchate
     n 1: the jurisdiction of a patriarch
     2: a form of social organization in which a male is the family
        head and title is traced through the male line [syn: {patriarchy}]