bigamy

[ big-uh-mee ]
See synonyms for bigamy on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural big·a·mies.
  1. Law. the crime of marrying while one has a spouse still living, from whom no valid divorce has been effected.

  2. Ecclesiastical. any violation of canon law concerning marital status that would disqualify a person from receiving holy orders or from retaining or surpassing an ecclesiastical rank.

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Origin of bigamy

1
1200–50; Middle English bigamie<Medieval Latin bigamia (Late Latin bigam(us) bigamous + Latin -ia-y3)

Words that may be confused with bigamy

Words Nearby bigamy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bigamy in a sentence

  • If she had lived to marry, some mischief—making scoundrel would have procured the indictment of her husband for bigamy.

  • Mrs. Johnson had been arrested on a charge of bigamy at Center, Texas, and was out on bond when she was seized.

    The Modern Ku Klux Klan | Henry Peck Fry
  • Now Lizzie had convicted her second husband of bigamy, and had freed herself after that fashion.

    The Prime Minister | Anthony Trollope
  • The Squire was an unlifelike story of a case of bigamy, annulled by an unexpected death.

    The English Stage | Augustin Filon
  • There's a law against bigamy, I believe; but I'll marry them both, the maid first, the mistress afterward.

    A Changed Heart | May Agnes Fleming

British Dictionary definitions for bigamy

bigamy

/ (ˈbɪɡəmɪ) /


nounplural -mies
  1. the crime of marrying a person while one is still legally married to someone else

Origin of bigamy

1
C13: via French from Medieval Latin bigamus; see bi- 1, -gamy

Derived forms of bigamy

  • bigamist, noun
  • bigamous, adjective
  • bigamously, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012