polygamy

polygamy
po·lyg·a·my -mē n, pl -mies marriage in which a spouse of either sex may have more than one mate at the same time compare POLYANDRY, POLYGYNY

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po·lyg·a·my (pə-ligґə-me) [poly- + Gr. gamos marriage] 1. the concurrent marriage of a woman or man to more than one spouse, as opposed to monogamy. 2. animal mating in which the individual mates with more than one partner. See also polyandry and polygyny.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • polygamy — po·lyg·a·my /pə li gə mē/ n: the offense of having several and specif. more than two spouses at one time compare bigamy po·lyg·a·mous / məs/ adj Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • Polygamy — Po*lyg a*my, n. [Gr. ?; cf. F. polygamie.] 1. The having of a plurality of wives or husbands at the same time; usually, the marriage of a man to more than one woman, or the practice of having several wives, at the same time; opposed to monogamy;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • polygamy — (n.) 1590s, from L.L. polygamia, from Late Gk. polygamia polygamy, from polygamos often married, from polys many + gamos marriage (see GAMETE (Cf. gamete)). Not etymologically restricted to marriage of one man and multiple women (technically… …   Etymology dictionary

  • polygamy — polygamy. См. полигамия. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • polygamy — [n] plural marriage bigamy, polyandry, polygyny; concepts 297,388 …   New thesaurus

  • polygamy — ► NOUN ▪ the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. DERIVATIVES polygamist noun polygamous adjective. ORIGIN from Greek polugamos often marrying …   English terms dictionary

  • polygamy — [pə lig′ə mē, pōlig′ə mē] n. [Fr polygamie < Gr polygamia: see POLY & GAMY] 1. the state or practice of having two or more spouses at the same time; plural marriage 2. Zool. the practice of mating with more than one of the opposite sex… …   English World dictionary

  • Polygamy — Toba chieftain and his wives, 1892 Polygamy (from πολύς γάμος polys gamos, translated literally in Late Greek as often married )[1] is a marriage which includes more than two partners.[1] …   Wikipedia

  • polygamy — /peuh lig euh mee/, n. 1. the practice or condition of having more than one spouse, esp. wife, at one time. Cf. bigamy (def. 1), monogamy (def. 1). 2. Zool. the habit or system of mating with more than one individual, either simultaneously or… …   Universalium

  • polygamy — /paligsmiy/ The offense of having several wives or husbands at the same time, or more than one wife or husband at the same time. Bigamy literally means a second marriage distinguished from a third or other; while polygamy means many marriages,… …   Black's law dictionary

  • polygamy — noun /pəˈlɪgəmi/ a) 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 b) Commonly used specifically for… …   Wiktionary

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