gamy

The combining form -gamy is used like a suffix with a variety of meanings. In terms from botany, it typically means “fertilization, pollination.“ In other contexts, -gamy is used to mean “marriage” or “union.”

The form -gamy is also used to form nouns related to terms ending in -gamous. It is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology.

The form -gamy comes from Greek -gamía, meaning “act of marrying.”

What are variants of -gamy?

While -gamy doesn’t have any variants, it is related to the form -gamous, as in cleistogamous. Additional combining forms of the same general origin include gamet-, gameto-, and gamo-. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for the forms.

One example of a word you may have come across that features the form -gamy is polygamy, “the practice or condition of having more than one spouse, especially wife, at one time.” Polygamy comes from Greek polygamía, which uses the equivalent form of -gamy.

The form poly- means “many,” from Greek polýs. Here, the form -gamy means “marriage.” Polygamy literally translates to “marriage to many (people).”

What are some words that use the combining form -gamy?

• anisogamy
• autoallogamy
• bigamy (using the equivalent form of -gamy in Latin)
• endogamy
• syngamy
• xenogamy

What are some other forms that -gamy may be commonly confused with?

• -gen
• -gon
• -gram

The combining form bi- means “two.” With this in mind, what is bigamy?