polygamy English · revision 878
11 Oct 2026, 01:25 by bogdan “New entry from the dictionary sources (AHD, Barnhart, Etymonline, MW, OED, RHWU, Wiktionary)” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /pəˈlɪɡ.ə.mi/^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[bor|frm|polygamie]] and directly [[der|la-lat|polygamia]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[der|grc|πολυγαμία|tr=polugamía]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from ''polúgamos'' “often married”,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[af|grc|πολύς|γάμος|tr1=polús|tr2=gámos|t1=many|t2=marriage]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Marriage with more than one spouse at once (before 1591).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)
+
+ ==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.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) The Century Dictionary noted that in Christian countries contracting a later marriage while the first was valid was termed [[bigamy]].^(Etymonline) From 1638 the word was used figuratively, especially of holding several church benefices.^(OED 1989) In zoology ''polygamy'' is the habit of mating with more than one individual (1890),^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(RHWU) and in botany it once named a plant bearing both bisexual and unisexual flowers (1793).^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * before 1591 – having more than one spouse.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1613 – ''polygamous''.^(Barnhart 1995)
+ * 1638 – figuratively, plurality of benefices.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1793 – in botany (obsolete).^(OED 1989)
+ * 1890 – in zoology, mating with several individuals.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # The condition or practice of having more than one spouse at the same time, especially more than one wife.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(zoology)'' A pattern of mating in which an individual mates with more than one of the opposite sex.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[polygamist]]
+ * [[polygamous]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[polygyny]]
+ * [[polyandry]]
+ * [[bigamy]]
+ * [[monogamy]]
+ * [[gamete]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}