Polygamy

5 definitions found

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

  Polygamy \Po*lyg"a*my\, n. [Gr. ?; cf. F. polygamie.]
     1. The having of a plurality of wives or husbands at the same
        time; usually, the marriage of a man to more than one
        woman, or the practice of having several wives, at the
        same time; -- opposed to monogamy; as, the nations of the
        East practiced polygamy. See the Note under {Bigamy}, and


        cf. {Polyandry}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Zool.) The state or habit of having more than one mate.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Bot.) The condition or state of a plant which bears both
        perfect and unisexual flowers.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  polygamy
       n : having more than one spouse at a time

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  20 Moby Thesaurus words for "polygamy":
     beena marriage, bigamy, common-law marriage, companionate marriage,
     concubinage, deuterogamy, left-handed marriage, levirate,
     leviration, love match, marriage of convenience, monandry,
     monogamy, monogyny, morganatic marriage, picture marriage,
     polyandry, polygyny, trial marriage, trigamy
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  POLYGAMY, crim. law. The act of a person who, knowing he has two or more 
  wives, or she has two or more husbands living, marries another. It differs 
  from bigamy. (q.v.) Com. Dig. Justices, S 5, Dict. de Jur. h.t. 
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  POLYGAMY, n.  A house of atonement, or expiatory chapel, fitted with
  several stools of repentance, as distinguished from monogamy, which
  has but one.