πολυγαμία

Forms

πολῠγᾰμῐ́ᾱ (polugamíā) f (genitive πολῠγᾰμῐ́ᾱς); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Ancient Greek πολύγαμος (polúgamos, “married to many”) with the suffix -ία; the adjective is a compound of πολύς (polús, “many”) and γάμος (gámos, “marriage”).^[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest record is in Philo of Alexandria (1st century BC to 1st century AD), who uses it of polygamy.^[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

In Philo the word means marriage to several wives;^[4][7] the astrologer Vettius Valens, in the 2nd century AD, uses it instead of marrying many times over.^[4][6] Clement of Alexandria also has it.^[5] Medieval vernacular Greek used it for a man's relations with many women at once.^[8]

Late Latin took the word as polygamia, and English polygamy is recorded from the 1590s.^[9] Modern Greek πολυγαμία (polygamía) is learned, from the Hellenistic word, influenced by French polygamie and the English word, and names the institution that allows marriage to more than one spouse.^[10][11]

Timeline

• 1st century BC to 1st century AD – Philo uses it of marriage to several wives.^[4][5][12]
• 2nd century AD – Vettius Valens uses it of marrying many times.^[4][12]
• 2nd–3rd century AD – Clement of Alexandria uses it.^[5][12]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular texts use it of relations with many women at once.^[8]
• 1590s – English takes polygamy through Late Latin.^[9]
• Modern Greek – The learned πολυγαμία (polygamía) names the institution of plural marriage.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. Polygamy, marriage to more than one wife.^[4][7][6]
2. Frequent marriage, marrying many times.^[4][6]

Related words

• πολύγαμος (polúgamos)
• γάμος (gámos)
• English polygamy

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, online ed., https://www.koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
4. ^ a b c d e f g Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b c d Charbonnet, André (2025), Chæréphon, v4.7: supplement to Bailly from papyri, inscriptions and recent lexica
7. ^ a b Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg
8. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ Ακαδημία Αθηνών (2014), Χρηστικό Λεξικό της Νεοελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Academy of Athens
12. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge