levirate

American  

[lev-er-it, -uh-reyt, lee-ver-it, -vuh-reyt] / ˈlɛv ər ɪt, -əˌreɪt, ˈli vər ɪt, -vəˌreɪt /

noun

1. a marriage custom in which a man marries his brother's widow.

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levirate British  

/ ˌlɛvɪˈrætɪk, ˈlɛvɪrɪt /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• leviratic adjective
• leviratical adjective

Etymology

Origin of levirate

First recorded in 1715–25; from Latin lēvir “husband's brother” (akin to Greek dāḗr, Sanskrit devar, Old English tācor ) + -ate ³

Example Sentences

Several independent cases show that these communities practised so-called levirate unions.

From Science Daily

The DNA also revealed polygamy and “levirate unions,” in which closely related males—brothers, or a father and son—had children with the same woman.

From Science Magazine

The new regulations prohibited people from marrying their first and second cousins and banned the practice of levirate marriage, in which a widow must marry her dead husband’s brother.

From Science Magazine

Without resort to that tribunal, the religionist could not discriminate between the sanction of the sixth commandment and the law of the levirate, which he has cancelled.

From Project Gutenberg

But this exists in Manu, side by side with the above-mentioned custom of levirate proper.

From Project Gutenberg