English
polygamy
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /pəˈlɪɡəmi/
Noun

polygamy

  1. The condition of having more than one spouse or marriage partner at one time.
    Are there countries where polygamy is legal for both men and women?
  2. (often, especially in common use) Synonym of polygyny#English|polygyny (“marriage of a man to more than one wife, the practice of having several wives at the same time”)
    Though Islam allows polygamy, it is frowned upon in many contemporary Muslim societies.
    • 1991, Kathryn M Daynes, Plural wives and the nineteenth-century Mormon marriage system, page 16
      Because Mormon polygamy was an unusual family form in nineteenth-century America […]
  3. (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.
  4. (botany) The condition or state of a plant which bears both perfect and unisexual flowers.
Antonyms Translations

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