Polygamous

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Polygamous \Po*lyg"a*mous\, a. [Gr. ? living ? polygamy; poly`s
     many + ? marriage. Cf. {Bigamy}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. Of or pertaining to polygamy; characterized by, or
        involving, polygamy; having a plurality of wives; as,
        polygamous marriages; -- opposed to {monogamous}.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Zool.) Pairing with more than one female.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Most deer, cattle, and sheep are polygamous.
                                                    --Darwin.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Bot.) Belonging to the Polygamia; bearing both
        hermaphrodite and unisexual flowers on the same plant.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  polygamous
       adj 1: having more than one mate at a time; used of relationships
              and individuals [ant: {monogamous}]
       2: having several forms of gametoecia on the same plant [syn: {heteroicous},
           {polyoicous}]