polygyny · noun — 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. It carries an Arena rating of 1454, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, polygyny ranks #2,167 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,927 of 17,146 for Most Storied Words, #4,866 of 17,197 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #5,025 of 17,129 for Most Ponderous Words.
polygyny is pronounced /pəˈlɪd͡ʒ.ɪ.ni/.
Why “polygyny” is a great word
The practice or condition of a man having more than one wife simultaneously. From Ancient Greek πολύ (polú, “many”) + γυνή (gunḗ, “woman, wife”), first attested in English around 1780. Unlike 'polyandry' (which denotes a woman with multiple husbands) or the broader 'polygamy' (a gender-neutral umbrella for plural spouses), polygyny is the specific, historically predominant architecture of plural union. It is the silent weight of separate quarters within a compound, the scent of jasmine oil lingering in shared linens, and the arithmetic of inheritance divided among half-brothers—a social geometry that multiplies not merely persons, but obligations and silent histories.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Ancient Greek πολύ (polú, “many”) + γυνή (gunḗ, “woman, wife”). By surface analysis, poly- + -gyny.
noun
- 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.e.g.“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:
- The condition of an ant colony that has multiple egg-laying queens.
- Synonym of polygamy.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.