levirate
[lev-er-it, -uh-reyt, lee-ver-it, -vuh-reyt]
- 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.
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Origin of levirate
1715–25; < Latin lēvir husband's brother (akin to Greek dāḗr, Sanskrit devar, Old English tācor) + -ate3
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for levirate
Historical Examples
Most marriage was by purchase; the levirate and sororate were common.
California Athabascan GroupsMartin A. Baumhoff
In Polynesia the levirate has the force of law, and it is common throughout America and Asia.
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 ChristArchibald 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 PeopleHenry Baudesson
By a Levirate marriage if a man died without heirs his remaining brother married his widow and raised up heirs to him.
The ChristJohn Eleazer Remsburg
levirate
- the practice, required by Old Testament law, of marrying the widow of one's brother
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Word Origin
C18: from Latin lēvir a husband's brother
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for levirate
n.
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).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper