exogamy

[ ek-sog-uh-mee ]

/ ɛkˈsɒg ə mi /

noun

marriage outside a specific tribe or similar social unit.Compare endogamy.

Biology. the union of gametes of unrelated parents.

Nearby words

Origin of exogamy

First recorded in 1860–65; exo- + -gamy

Related formsex·og·a·mous

[ek-sog-uh-muh s] /ɛkˈsɒg ə məs/, ex·o·gam·ic

[ek-suh-gam-ik] /ˌɛk səˈgæm ɪk/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for exogamous

Perhaps the Navaho and Apaches never had totemic names for their exogamous local groups.
Method in the Study of Totemism|Andrew Lang
These people were Sioux or Dacotas; whether they were exogamous or not Carver does not say.
Method in the Study of Totemism|Andrew Lang
They also have exogamous septs or bamsams, among which are gogudiya (bells) and nolini (bamboo carrier).
Castes and Tribes of Southern India|Edgar Thurston
To prevent near marriages (previously universal), the commune is split into two exogamous intermarrying phratries.
Social Origins and Primal Law|Andrew Lang

Each of these marriage groups is exogamous and includes a majority of totem groups.
Totem and Taboo|Sigmund Freud

British Dictionary definitions for exogamous

exogamy

/ (ɛkˈsɒɡəmɪ) /

noun

sociol anthropol the custom or an act of marrying a person belonging to another tribe, clan, or similar social unitCompare endogamy

biology fusion of gametes from parents that are not closely related

Derived Formsexogamous (ɛkˈsɒɡəməs) or exogamic (ˌɛksəʊˈɡæmɪk), adjective

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

Word Origin and History for exogamous

exogamy

1865, Modern Latin, literally "outside marriage," from exo- + -gamy. Related: Exogamous.

Medicine definitions for exogamous

exogamy

[ ĕk-sŏg′ə-mē ]

n.

Sexual reproduction by means of conjugation of two gametes of different ancestry, as in certain protozoan species.