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polygamy

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polygamy

  • /pəˈlɪɡ.ə.mi/

Where it comes from

Recorded since 1591, from Late Latin polygamia, from Ancient Greek πολυγαμία (polugamía), itself from πολύγαμος (polúgamos, “married to many”), from πολύς (polús, “many”) + γάμος (gámos, “marriage”). Relates to modern prefix and suffix poly- + -gamy.

noun polygamies

  1. countable, uncountable 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?

    Opposite: agamy, monogamy, serial monogamy

  2. countable, especially, often, uncountable, in common use Synonym of 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.

    Similar: polygyny

  3. countable, uncountable 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. countable, uncountable The condition or state of a plant which bears both perfect and unisexual flowers.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: polygyny, polygamous, wife, sororal, polyamory, plural marriage, group marriage, bigamy, polyandry, serial polygamy, plurality, monogamy, quadrigamy, hyperpolyandry, polyamoury, poly

Translations

Every language

noun the having of a plurality of socially bonded sexual partners at the same time — see also polygyny, polyandry

Españolpoligamia
日本語複婚 fukukon, ポリガミー porigamī
中文多配偶制 duōpèi'ǒuzhì, 一夫多妻 polygyny
हिन्दीबहुविवाह bahuvivāh, बहुसंगमन bahusaṅgman
Portuguêspoligamia
Françaispolygamie
DeutschPolygamie, Mehrehe, Vielehe
Italianopoligamia
Ελληνικάπολυγαμία polygamía
Românăpoligamie
Русскийполигами́я poligamíja, многобра́чие mnogobráčije
العربيةتَعَدُّدُ الأَزْوَاج taʕaddudu l-ʔazwāj
עבריתפוליגמיה poligámya

noun zoology: the state or habit of having more than one mate

日本語多婚性 takonsei
हिन्दीबहुसंगमन bahusaṅgman

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MLA

"polygamy." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/polygamy. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

APA

polygamy. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/polygamy

Chicago

"polygamy." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/polygamy.

BibTeX
@misc{polygamy_2026,
  title = {polygamy},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/polygamy},
  urldate = {2026-11-07}
}