polygyny
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Related to polygyny: Sororal Polygyny
po·lyg·y·ny
(pə-lĭj′ə-nē)n.
1. The condition or practice of having more than one wife at one time.
2. Zoology
a. A mating pattern in which a male mates with more than one female in a single breeding season.
b. The condition of having more than one queen. Used of an insect colony.
po·lyg′y·nous adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
polygyny
(pəˈlɪdʒɪnɪ)n
1. (Anthropology & Ethnology) the practice or condition of being married to more than one wife at the same time. Compare polygamy
2. (Zoology) the practice in animals of a male mating with more than one female during one breeding season
3. (Botany) the condition in flowers of having many carpels
[C18: from poly- + -gyny, from Greek gunē a woman]
poˈlygynist n
poˈlygynous adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
po•lyg•y•ny
(pəˈlɪdʒ ə ni)n.
the practice or condition of having more than one wife at one time.
[1770–80; < Greek polygýnaios having many wives]
po•lyg′y•nist, n.
po•lyg′y•nous, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
polygyny
the practice of having two or more wives at a time. — polygynous, polygynious, adj.
See also: Marriage-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Noun | 1. | polygyny - having more than one wife at a time polygamy - having more than one spouse at a time |
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