homogamy

[hoh-mog-uh-mee]

noun

1. the state of being homogamous.

2. interbreeding of individuals with like characteristics.

homogamy

/ hɒˈmɒɡəmɪ /

noun

1. a condition in which all the flowers of an inflorescence are either of the same sex or hermaphrodite Compare heterogamy

2. the maturation of the anthers and stigmas of a flower at the same time, ensuring self-pollination Compare dichogamy

Other Word Forms

• homogamous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of homogamy¹

First recorded in 1870–75; homo- + -gamy

Example Sentences

We wanna go down to the llano to see if they practice homogamy, but dunno how to get there.

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That urge is called homogamy, a marriage between two individuals who are extremely similar.

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Blogger Steve Randy Waldman has that assortative mating—he calls it, more succinctly, homogamy—also helps explain the rise in single motherhood at the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum.

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After civil rights, that expectation mellowed into something called “homogamy,” meaning women marrying men of equal money and education.

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Studies do show, unsurprisingly, that religious homogamy—the extent to which married couples share the same religious beliefs and participate jointly in religious practices—is reliably, and inversely, associated with relationship discord.

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