Polygamy
[puh-lig-uh-mee] /pəˈlɪg ə mi/
noun
1.
the practice or condition of having more than one spouse, especially wife, at one time.
Compare (def 1), (def 1).
2.
Zoology. the habit or system of mating with more than one individual, either simultaneously or successively.
/pəˈlɪɡəmɪ/
noun
1.
the practice of having more than one wife or husband at the same time Compare polyandry, polygyny
2.
3.
the practice in male animals of having more than one mate during one breeding season
n.
1590s, from Late Latin polygamia, from Late Greek polygamia “polygamy,” from polygamos “often married,” from polys “many” + gamos “marriage” (see gamete). Not etymologically restricted to marriage of one man and multiple women (technically polygyny), but often used as if it were. Related: Polygamist.
polygamy [(puh-lig-uh-mee)]
The practice of having several wives or husbands at the same time. (Compare monogamy.)
Read Also:
- Polygene
[pol-ee-jeen] /ˈpɒl iˌdʒin/ noun 1. one of a group of nonallelic genes that together control a quantitative characteristic in an organism. /ˈpɒlɪˌdʒiːn/ noun 1. any of a group of genes that each produce a small quantitative effect on a particular characteristic of the phenotype, such as height polygene pol·y·gene (pŏl’ē-jēn’) n. One of a group […]
- Polygenesis
[pol-ee-jen-uh-sis] /ˌpɒl iˈdʒɛn ə sɪs/ noun, Biology, Anthropology. 1. origin from more than one ancestral species or line. /ˌpɒlɪˈdʒɛnɪsɪs/ noun 1. (biology) evolution of a polyphyletic organism or group 2. the hypothetical descent of the different races of man from different ultimate ancestors n. “plurality of origins,” 1858, from poly- + genesis. Related: Polygenetic (1851).
- Polygenetic
[pol-ee-juh-net-ik] /ˌpɒl i dʒəˈnɛt ɪk/ adjective 1. Biology. relating to or exhibiting polygenesis. 2. having many or several different sources of origin.
- Polygenic
[pol-ee-jeen] /ˈpɒl iˌdʒin/ noun 1. one of a group of nonallelic genes that together control a quantitative characteristic in an organism. /ˌpɒliˈdʒɛnik/ adjective 1. of, relating to, or controlled by polygenes: polygenic inheritance /ˈpɒlɪˌdʒiːn/ noun 1. any of a group of genes that each produce a small quantitative effect on a particular characteristic of the […]
- Polygenism
[puh-lij-uh-niz-uh m] /pəˈlɪdʒ əˌnɪz əm/ noun 1. the theory that the human race has descended from two or more ancestral types.