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polygamy

Etymology and origin of the English word polygamy

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pəˈlɪɡ.ə.mi/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French polygamie and directly from Late Latin polygamia,[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek πολυγαμία (polugamía),[2][3][4][5] from polúgamos “often married”,[3][4] from Ancient Greek πολύς (polús, “many”) + γάμος (gámos, “marriage”).[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Marriage with more than one spouse at once (before 1591).[6][3][4][7]

Semantic evolution

Etymologically the word is not restricted to a man with several wives (technically polygyny), though it is often used as if it were.[4][5] The Century Dictionary noted that in Christian countries contracting a later marriage while the first was valid was termed bigamy.[4] From 1638 the word was used figuratively, especially of holding several church benefices.[6] In zoology polygamy is the habit of mating with more than one individual (1890),[6][2][5] and in botany it once named a plant bearing both bisexual and unisexual flowers (1793).[6][1]

Timeline

  • before 1591 – having more than one spouse.[6][3][7]
  • 1613 – polygamous.[3]
  • 1638 – figuratively, plurality of benefices.[6]
  • 1793 – in botany (obsolete).[6]
  • 1890 – in zoology, mating with several individuals.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The condition or practice of having more than one spouse at the same time, especially more than one wife.
  2. (zoology) A pattern of mating in which an individual mates with more than one of the opposite sex.

Word family

  • polygamist
  • polygamous
  • polygyny
  • polyandry
  • bigamy
  • monogamy
  • gamete

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Polygamy.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/polygamy. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·