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polygamy

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Financial, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
po·lyg·a·my  (p-lg-m)
n.
1. The condition or practice of having more than one spouse at one time. Also called plural marriage.
2. Zoology A mating pattern in which a single individual mates with more than one individual of the opposite sex.

[French polygamie, from Late Latin polygamia, from Greek polugami : polu-, poly- + -gami, -gamy.]

polygamy [pəˈlɪgəmɪ]
n
1. (Social Science / Anthropology & Ethnology) the practice of having more than one wife or husband at the same time Compare polyandry, polygyny
2. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Botany)
a.  the condition of having male, female, and hermaphrodite flowers on the same plant
b.  the condition of having these different types of flower on separate plants of the same species
3. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Zoology) the practice in male animals of having more than one mate during one breeding season
[via French from Greek polugamia from poly- + -gamy]
polygamist  n
polygamous  adj
polygamously  adv

polygamy
the condition of having more than two spouses simultaneously. — polygamist, n. — polygamous, adj.
See also: Crime
the practice or state of being married to more than one person at a time. — polygamous, adj.
See also: Marriage
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.polygamypolygamy - having more than one spouse at a time
marriage, matrimony, spousal relationship, wedlock, union - the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce); "a long and happy marriage"; "God bless this union"
polyandry - having more than one husband at a time
polygyny - having more than one wife at a time
Translations
polygamy [pɒˈlɪgəmɪ] Npoligamia f
polygamy [pəˈlɪgəmi] npolygamie f
polygamy
nPolygamie f, → Vielehe f, → Vielweiberei f
polygamy [pɒˈlɪgəmɪ] npoligamia
polygamy [pɒˈlɪgəmɪ] npoligamia


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
Passepartout was now the only person left in the car, and the Elder, looking him full in the face, reminded him that, two years after the assassination of Joseph Smith, the inspired prophet, Brigham Young, his successor, left Nauvoo for the banks of the Great Salt Lake, where, in the midst of that fertile region, directly on the route of the emigrants who crossed Utah on their way to California, the new colony, thanks to the polygamy practised by the Mormons, had flourished beyond expectations.
No one can appreciate the peace, the holy satisfaction of monogamy till he has passed through the wasting distractions, the unrest of polygamy.
Polygamy, which once prevailed among them to a great extent, was now rarely indulged.
 
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