bigamy
Americannoun
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bigamies
plural
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Law. the crime of marrying while one has a spouse still living, from whom no valid divorce has been effected.
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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.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of bigamy
1200–50; Middle English bigamie < Medieval Latin bigamia ( Late Latin bigam ( us ) bigamous + Latin -ia -y 3 )
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Explanation
When you are married to two people at the same time, that’s called bigamy. For example, if someone gets remarried before his or her previous marriage's divorce is finalized, that's bigamy. The noun bigamy originates in the Greek as a combination of the prefix bi-, meaning “double,” and gamos, which means “marrying.” There are some cultures and religions that promote, encourage and otherwise allow polygamy, but where it’s illegal, which is most of the Western Hemisphere, it’s called bigamy.
Vocabulary lists containing bigamy
It Takes Two: Bi
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Frankenwords: Words with Roots from Different Languages
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: bi-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The state bigamy law won’t necessarily bar West Hollywood from registering relationships inside its two-mile-square borders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2026
In 2021, Lai Xiaomin, the former chairman of Huarong - one of China's biggest state-controlled asset management companies - was executed after being found guilty of corruption and bigamy.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2023
Under the Mississippi Constitution, people convicted of 10 specific felonies — including murder, forgery and bigamy — lose the right to vote.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
Eight crimes listed in the 1890 version of the provision - bribery, theft, arson, obtaining money or goods under false pretense, perjury, forgery, embezzlement and bigamy - remain as disqualifying offenses today.
From Reuters ● Jun. 30, 2023
What’s more, bigamy could now be added to Mark Antony’s many shortcomings.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
I asked him—a Scotch marriage, or some of those crooked wed-locks on which they found bigamies and illegitimacies.
From The Tenants of Malory Volume 3 of 3 by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
