polygyny en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /pəˈlɪd͡ʒ.ɪ.ni/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Ancient Greek πολύ (polú, “many”) + γυνή (gunḗ, “woman, wife”). By surface analysis, poly- + -gyny.
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) The state or practice of a man having more than one wife at a time; plurality of wives; marriage between one man and multiple wives.
We may infer that in most cases where polygyny exists, monogamy co-exists to a greater extent, and in all other cases to a considerable extent.
1883, Herbert Spencer, The Principles of Sociology, page 685:
- (countable, uncountable) The condition of an ant colony that has multiple egg-laying queens.
- (countable, uncountable) Synonym of polygamy.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| polygynies | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Coordinates
oligogyny · oligandry · bigamy · polyandry
Deriveds
Hypernyms
Synonyms
Translations (43)
mi tāne moe tokomaha (plurality of wives at the same time) · uk багатоже́нство (plurality of wives at the same time) · fi monivaimoisuus (plurality of wives at the same time) · nl veelwijverij (plurality of wives at the same time) · sh многоже́нство (plurality of wives at the same time) · ar تَعَدُّد اَلزَّوْجَات (plurality of wives at the same time) · es poliginia (plurality of wives at the same time) · pt poliginia (plurality of wives at the same time) · de Polygynie (plurality of wives at the same time) · sh mnogožénstvo (plurality of wives at the same time) · ka მრავალცოლიანობა (plurality of wives at the same time) · lt poliginija (plurality of wives at the same time) · pl poligynia (plurality of wives at the same time) · hy բազմակնություն (plurality of wives at the same time) · sh полигѝнија (plurality of wives at the same time) · ga polaigíneas (plurality of wives at the same time) · fi polygynia (plurality of wives at the same time) · eo poligamio (plurality of wives at the same time) · gu બહુપત્નીકત્વ (plurality of wives at the same time) · ru полигини́я (plurality of wives at the same time) · ru многожёнство (plurality of wives at the same time) · mi moe punarau (plurality of wives at the same time) · mk многуже́нство (plurality of wives at the same time) · te బహుభార్యాత్వము (plurality of wives at the same time) · sh višeženstvo (plurality of wives at the same time) · cmn 一夫多妻 (plurality of wives at the same time) · sh вишеженство (plurality of wives at the same time) · gu બહુપત્નીત્વ (plurality of wives at the same time) · lt daugpatystė (plurality of wives at the same time) · cmn 一夫多妻制 (plurality of wives at the same time) · ka პოლიგინია (plurality of wives at the same time) · sh poligìnija (plurality of wives at the same time) · hi बहुपत्नीत्व (plurality of wives at the same time) · sv polygyni (plurality of wives at the same time) · az çoxarvadlılıq (plurality of wives at the same time) · cy amlwreiciaeth (plurality of wives at the same time) · hu többnejűség (plurality of wives at the same time) · be многажо́нства (plurality of wives at the same time) · fr polygynie (plurality of wives at the same time) · nl polygynie (plurality of wives at the same time) · ga il-leannántacht (plurality of wives at the same time) · ja 一夫多妻 (plurality of wives at the same time) · mk полигинија (plurality of wives at the same time)