Definition of polygamy
Etymology
Recorded since 1591, from Late Latin polygamia, from Ancient Greek (polygamia), itself from from (polygamos) "often married," from (polys) "many" + (gamos) "marriage".
Pronunciation
Noun
polygamy (plural polygamies)
- The having of a plurality of socially bonded sexual partners at the same time
Originally polygamy could work either or both ways, but civilisation generally forbids simultaneous husbands
- Commonly used specifically for polygyny, the marriage of a man to more than one wife, or the practice of having several wives, at the same time.
The Islamic form of polygamy is a husband with up to four wives
- (zoology) The state or habit of having more than one sexual mate.
An insect queen actually practices polygamy only one day, while for an alpha-male defending his harem is the very essence of both his status and polygamy
- (botany) The condition or state of a plant which bears both perfect and unisexual flowers.
Synonyms
- (common restriction) polygyny
Antonyms
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Related terms
- polygamic
- polygamical
- polygamous
- bigamy
- exogamy
See also
- concubine
- harem, seraglio
Further reading
The term polygamy (a Greek word meaning "the practice of multiple marriage") is used in related ways in social anthropology, sociobiology, sociology, as well as in popular speech. Polygamy can be defined as any "form of marriage in which a person [has] more than one spouse."
In social anthropology, polygamy is the practice of marriage to more than one spouse simultaneously. Historically, polygamy has been practiced as polygyny (one man having more than one wife), or as polyandry (one woman having more than one husband), or, less commonly as group marriage (husbands having many wives and those wives having many husbands). In contrast, monogamy is the practice of each person having only one spouse. Like monogamy, the term is often used in a de facto sense, applying regardless of whether the relationships are recognized by the state (see marriage for a discussion on the extent to which states can and do recognize potentially and actually polygamous forms as valid). In sociobiology, polygamy is used in a broad sense to mean any form of multiple mating. In a narrower sense, used by zoologists, polygamy includes a pair bond, perhaps temporary. In popular speech, polygamy is often mistakenly assumed to refer to polygyny alone rather than including the other forms, as more polygamous relationships in human history have been polygynous.
References:
- Wiktionary. Published under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
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