Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The condition or practice of having more than one spouse at one time.
- noun Zoology A mating pattern in which a single individual mates with more than one individual of the opposite sex.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Marriage with more than one spouse; the having of a plurality of wives or husbands at the same time.
- noun In zoology, the practice or habit of having more than one mate of the opposite sex; polyandry or polygyny
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun 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 . See the Note underbigamy , and cf.polyandry . - noun (Zoöl.) The state or habit of having more than one mate.
- noun (Bot.) The condition or state of a plant which bears both perfect and unisexual flowers.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The having of multiple socially bonded sexual
partners at the same time - noun 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. - noun zoology The state or habit of having more than one sexual
mate . - noun botany The condition or state of a plant which bears both
perfect andunisexual flowers.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun having more than one spouse at a time
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Nichols served as lead prosecutor in all past church cases, but he was careful not to mention the word polygamy Tuesday.
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Nichols served as lead prosecutor in all past church cases, but he was quick not to mention the word polygamy Tuesday.
USATODAY.com News 2011
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Nichols served as lead prosecutor in all past church cases, but he was careful not to mention the word polygamy Tuesday.
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Nichols served as lead prosecutor in all past church cases, but he was quick not to mention the word polygamy Tuesday.
chron.com Chronicle 2011
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Because polygamy is illegal, such families tend to keep their lifestyles a secret -- as the Browns did until now.
'Sister Wives' Features A Lot Of Wives But Little Faith Clay Chiles 2010
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By Kimberly Winston Religion News Service (RNS) For a show that centers around a family in which polygamy is an article of faith, there
'Sister Wives' Features A Lot Of Wives But Little Faith Clay Chiles 2010
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What happens to the rights and duties of marriage if polygamy is available?
Polygamy: Facts Not Fear, Bryan Caplan | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty 2009
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By Kimberly Winston Religion News Service (RNS) For a show that centers around a family in which polygamy is an article of faith, there's very ...
'Sister Wives' Features A Lot Of Wives But Little Faith Clay Chiles 2010
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March 3rd, 2010 at 10: 02 pm dbadass says: dbadass wonders if polygamy is a sin …
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Divorce will become more difficult due to the taxes on alimony, while a husband will be freed of all responsibility to maintain equitable treatment of his wives if he engages in polygamy -- in Islam, polygamy is explicitly forbidden in the Quran unless the husband is capable of treating his wives in a perfectly equal fashion.
Shayan Ghajar: Iranian Women Poised for Major Setback Shayan Ghajar 2010
Sigurd commented on the word polygamy
Polygamy is out of favour in my circles, Toronto Canada. It is completely replaced with "Polyamory".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyamory
"Polyamory is a less specific term than polygamy, the practice or condition of having more than one spouse. (The majority of polygamous cultures are traditionally polygynous, where one husband has multiple wives. Polyandrous societies, in which one wife has multiple husbands, are less common but do exist.12) Marriage is not a requirement in polyamorous relationships. The "knowledge and consent of all partners concerned"13 is a defining characteristic of polyamorous relationships. Distinguishing polyamory from other forms of non-monogamy (e.g., "cheating") is an ideology that openness, goodwill, truthful communication, and ethical behavior should prevail among all the parties involved.1415"
May 28, 2015