polygyny

American  

[puh-lij-uh-nee] / pəˈlɪdʒ ə ni /

noun

1. the practice or condition of having more than one wife at one time.

2. (among male animals) the habit or system of having two or more mates, either simultaneously or successively.

3. (among social insects) the condition of having two or more functioning queens in a colony.

4. Botany. the state or condition of having many pistils or styles.

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polygyny British  

/ pəˈlɪdʒɪnɪ /

noun

1. the practice or condition of being married to more than one wife at the same time Compare polygamy

2. the practice in animals of a male mating with more than one female during one breeding season

3. the condition in flowers of having many carpels

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• polygynous
  adjective
• polygynist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of polygyny

1770–80; < Greek polygýn ( aios ) having many wives ( see poly-, gyn-) + -y ³

Example Sentences

Polygyny is still widely practiced throughout tribal Africa, as is the costly custom of buying a bride, which may mortgage a young man's income to his father-in-law for nearly his lifetime.

From Time Magazine Archive

Polygyny is universal, being limited only by the wealth of the husband, or the numerical preponderance of the men.

From Man, Past and Present by Haddon, Alfred Court

Polygyny came in especially after women came to be captured in war and kept as slaves or wives.

From Sociology and Modern Social Problems by Ellwood, Charles A. (Charles Abram)

Polygyny, indeed, is closely related with the institution of slavery and is practically coextensive with it.

From Sociology and Modern Social Problems by Ellwood, Charles A. (Charles Abram)

Polygyny was common; in several of the tribes the bride's sisters became subordinate wives of the husband.

From The Siouan Indians by McGee, W. J. (William John)