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

• polygynist noun
• polygynous adjective

Etymology

Origin of polygyny

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

Example Sentences

While polygyny - the marriage of a man to several women - is allowed in South Africa, such relationships are usually registered as customary marriages and are not celebrated in church.

From BBC • May 3, 2025

Adult relationships vary in form across societies and include not only the type most common around the world today — heterosexual monogamy — but also same-sex marriage, nonmarital unions, polyamory, polygyny and polyandry.

From Washington Post • Jun. 17, 2022

In resourced-based polygyny, males compete for territories with the best resources, and then mate with females that enter the territory, drawn to its resource richness.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

As marriage historian Stephanie Coontz has pointed out, polygyny is less about sex than it is about power.

From Slate • Jan. 30, 2012

The reason for this is not only the economic one just mentioned, but that everywhere the sexes are relatively equal in numbers, and therefore it is impossible for polygyny to become a widespread general custom.

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