exogamy

American  

[ek-sog-uh-mee] / ɛkˈsɒg ə mi /

noun

1. marriage outside a specific tribe or similar social unit.

2. Biology. the union of gametes of unrelated parents.

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exogamy British  

/ ˌɛksəʊˈɡæmɪk, ɛkˈsɒɡəmɪ, ɛkˈsɒɡəməs /

noun

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

2. biology fusion of gametes from parents that are not closely related

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Other Word Forms

• exogamic adjective
• exogamous adjective

Etymology

Origin of exogamy

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

Compare meaning

How does exogamy compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• endogamy vs. exogamy

Example Sentences

Communities were locally centred around a main patriline, were related to each other through the systematic practice of female exogamy.

From Science Daily • Apr. 24, 2024

For under the conventions is a shrewd stockbreeder's intuition that blood lines are strengthened by a little exogamy.

From Time Magazine Archive

Lennan did not live to publish a subtle theory of the origin of exogamy, which he had elaborated.

From Custom and Myth New Edition by Lang, Andrew

As exogamy and polyandry are referable to one and the same cause—a want of balance between the sexes—we are forced to regard all the exogamous races as having originally been polyandrous....

From The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State by Engels, Friedrich

While these objections cannot but occur, Durkheim does provide a valid reason for the existence of exogamy.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 2 "Fairbanks, Erastus" to "Fens" by Various