matriot

English

Etymology

A feminine form of patriot. First use appears c. 1739. See cite below.

Noun

matriot (plural matriots)

(uncommon) A patriot who is female or who embraces feminine values.
- 1739, Benjamin Robins, An Address to the Electors, and Other Free Subjects of Great Britain, Occasion'd by the Late Secession. In which is Contain'd a Particular Account of All Our Negociations with Spain, and Their Treatment of Us, for Above Ten Years Past, page 36:
  Nor muſt it be forgot that the Scheme of a worthy matriot, and ſtrongly ſupported, though in vain, by moſt of the Gentlemen, who lately ſeceded, for reducing Intereſt to 3 per Cent.
- 2006, Cindy Sheehan, Peace Mom: A Mother's Journey through Heartache to Activism, page 213:
  A matriot loves his or her country but does not buy such exploitive slogans as “My country, right or wrong.”
- 2011, Alice Walker, The Temple of My Familiar:
  She was a matriot, and loved our country , though she thought the men who ruled were all gesture and no effect .
- 2017, David Stephen Calonne, Conversations with Gary Snyder:
  So a matriot loves the motherland, and the motherland is the land.
- 2020, Sharon A. Buttry, ‎Daniel L. Buttry, Daughters of Rizpah:
  A matriot is in contrast to a patriot. Matriots would do anything to stop killing as a way to solve problems. A matriot would never send her child or another mother's child to fight nonsense wars.
(uncommon) A female who loves or celebrates the influence of women upon society.
(uncommon) One who advocates for maternal or nurturing causes such as human rights, universal healthcare, the eradication of poverty, etc.
- 2008, Edwin Mayorga, ‎Bree Picower, ‎Seth Rader, Camouflaged, page 77:
  Men, who are in touch with the matriot inside of them, have also been important to the cause of eradicating war.
- 2015, Clemens Spahr, A Poetics of Global Solidarity:
  The matriot fights not only for the rights of a particular group (she transcends "woman") but also against economic and social privilege.
- 2019, Georges Sioui, Eatenonha: Native Roots of Modern Democracy:
  Most importantly, he was, as I will say further on, "a quiet rebel and a matriot."
- 2023, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, A Long Essay on the Long Poem, page 82:
  In Book III the finding centers on a neologism: "matriot” (the word “patriot” deturned), not a woman necessarily, but adherence to “feminist mother poetics,” a mending but also fierce calling out of the destructive results of patriarchy.

Derived terms

Alternative forms

Matriot