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 exogamy

Endogamy and exogamy do not form such an absolute contrast as at first sight might appear.
The Sexual Question|August Forel
In its fundamental aspects it was proposed by MacLennan, the investigator who also gave us the word 'exogamy.'
Elements of Folk Psychology|Wilhelm Wundt
But we never find totemism, with exogamy, just coming into existence.
The Secret of the Totem|Andrew Lang
Some of these explanations of totemism lack all connexion with exogamy so that the two institutions are entirely separated.
Totem and Taboo|Sigmund Freud

This was exogamy, instituted for political purposes, to use the word "political" proleptically.
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 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 exogamy

exogamy

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

Medicine definitions for exogamy

exogamy

[ ĕk-sŏg′ə-mē ]

n.

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