levirate

[lev-er-it, -uh-reyt, lee-ver-it, -vuh-reyt]

noun

the custom of marriage by a man with his brother's widow, such marriage required in Biblical law if the deceased was childless. Deut. 25:5–10.

Origin of levirate

1715–25; < Latin lēvir husband's brother (akin to Greek dāḗr, Sanskrit devar, Old English tācor) + -ate³

Related formslev·i·rat·ic

[lev-uh-rat-ik, lee-vuh-] /ˌlɛv əˈræt ɪk, ˌli və-/, lev·i·rat·i·cal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for levirate

Historical Examples of levirate

Most marriage was by purchase; the levirate and sororate were common.
California Athabascan Groups
Martin A. Baumhoff
In Polynesia the levirate has the force of law, and it is common throughout America and Asia.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 5
Various
This is certainly possible, although it rests on the hypothesis of the Levirate marriage.
A Harmony of the Gospels for Students of the Life of Christ
Archibald Thomas Robertson
The Levirate (from "Levir," a brother-in-law, in Sanscrit dvar) is also found operating as a stringent injunction.
Indo-China and Its Primitive People
Henry Baudesson
By a Levirate marriage if a man died without heirs his remaining brother married his widow and raised up heirs to him.
The Christ
John Eleazer Remsburg

British Dictionary definitions for levirate

levirate

noun

the practice, required by Old Testament law, of marrying the widow of one's brother

Derived Formsleviratic (ˌlɛvɪˈrætɪk) or leviratical, adjective

Word Origin for levirate

C18: from Latin lēvir a husband's brother

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 levirate

custom by which the male next-of-kin of a dead man was bound to marry his widow, 1725, from Latin levir "brother-in-law" (from PIE *daiwer- "husband's brother") + -ate (2).