exogamy

[ ek-sog-uh-mee ]

/ ɛkˈsɒg ə mi /

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noun

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

Biology. the union of gametes of unrelated parents.

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Origin of exogamy

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

OTHER WORDS FROM exogamy

ex·og·a·mous

[ek-sog-uh-muhs], /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. 2023

How to use exogamy in a sentence

Hence exogamous and parental tribal membership became differentiated.
Elements of Folk Psychology|Wilhelm Wundt
Such prohibitions are from the very beginning outside the pale of exogamous laws.
Elements of Folk Psychology|Wilhelm Wundt
Not being hereditary, they are not exogamous: here, and here alone, they do not regulate marriage.
The Secret of the Totem|Andrew Lang
Male reckoning of descent—which is found in very many tribes where totems are exogamous—as everywhere.
The Secret of the Totem|Andrew Lang

Now how does it happen that a totem may be in both sets of exogamous classes among the Arunta alone of mankind?
The Secret of the Totem|Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for exogamy

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 forms of exogamy

exogamous (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