Patria is Greek for a family or a clan.

Ephesians 3:15

Τούτου χάριν κάμπτω τὰ γόνατά μου πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεται

American Standard version of 1901:

For this cause, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named

Flavius Josephus in the Judean Antiquities:

Ποιησάντων δὲ τοῦτο τῶν Ἑβραίων ὁ τῆς Βενιαμίτιδος κλῆρος ἐξέπεσε, ταύτης δὲ κληρωθείσης ἔλαχεν ἡ Ματρὶς καλουμένη πατριὰ, ἧς κατ᾽ ἄνδρα κληρωθείσης λαγχάνει ὁ Κεισαίου βασιλεύειν παῖς Σαοῦλος.

translation by William Whiston:

When the Hebrews had so done, the lot fell upon the tribe of Benjamin; and when the lot was cast for the families of this tribe, that which was called Matri was taken; and when the lot was cast for the single persons of that family, Saul, the son of Kish, was taken for their king.

A patriarch is the head of the family, akin to the Pater Familias in Latin.

edit: as to the feminists - they might have picked the notion from Roman law along with "emancipation". Emancipation was originally a document handed out by the pater familias to his wife or his slaves or his children enabling them to make legal descissions independent of his will. In France, f.e., instance the wife was not allowed to work without her husband's consent until 1965. Therefore the feminists stood for universal "emancipation" and against "patriarchy".