Matrimony?...Why Not Patri-mony

Shemsi en Tehuti · (#1 (**permalink**))

We all know that the root words matri- and patri- refer to the woman and man respectively. Here are some examples

Matricide/Patricide: murder of own respective mother/father
Matriarch/Patriarch: regency of a woman/man
Matrilineal/Patrilineal: ancestral tracing through the mother's/father's antecedents

Yet, when we come to the word matrimony, why does it use the feminine root but not the masculine? In fact, patrimony has a totally different definition which refers to more superficial gains, inheritance, and such aggregations, while matrimony refers to genuine commitment between two people.

I just thought it would be an interesting discussion as to why etymologically the word matrimony is associated with the woman rather than the man. With the use of words, carries a particular psychology in understanding them whether conscious or subconscious.

Perhaps Afrikan men wouldn't have such an aversion to marriage in Western culture if it were called "patrimony" or some other word instead of a word connoting, perhaps, demasculinization. I'm not as astute in modern Afrikan languages as I wish to be, so perhaps others could give the words for matrimony/marriage in their respective Afrikan languages and tell whether it has feminine, masculine, or neutral connotations in comparison to the European lexicon.