polygamy

polygamy
/paligsmiy/ The offense of having several wives or husbands at the same time, or more than one wife or husband at the same time.
Bigamy literally means a second marriage distinguished from a third or other; while polygamy means many marriages,-implies more than two. Polygamy is a crime in all states. A person is guilty of polygamy, a felony of the third degree, if he marries or cohabits with more than one spouse at a time in purported exercise of the right of plural marriage. The offense is a continuing one until all cohabitation and claim of marriage with more than one spouse terminates. This section does not apply to parties to a polygamous marriage, lawful in the country of which they are residents or nationals, while they are in transit through or temporarily visiting this State. Model Penal Code, No. 230.1

Black's law dictionary. . 1990.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • polygamy — po·lyg·a·my /pə li gə mē/ n: the offense of having several and specif. more than two spouses at one time compare bigamy po·lyg·a·mous / məs/ adj Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • Polygamy — Po*lyg a*my, n. [Gr. ?; cf. F. polygamie.] 1. The having of a plurality of wives or husbands at the same time; usually, the marriage of a man to more than one woman, or the practice of having several wives, at the same time; opposed to monogamy;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • polygamy — (n.) 1590s, from L.L. polygamia, from Late Gk. polygamia polygamy, from polygamos often married, from polys many + gamos marriage (see GAMETE (Cf. gamete)). Not etymologically restricted to marriage of one man and multiple women (technically… …   Etymology dictionary

  • polygamy — polygamy. См. полигамия. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • polygamy — [n] plural marriage bigamy, polyandry, polygyny; concepts 297,388 …   New thesaurus

  • polygamy — ► NOUN ▪ the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. DERIVATIVES polygamist noun polygamous adjective. ORIGIN from Greek polugamos often marrying …   English terms dictionary

  • polygamy — [pə lig′ə mē, pōlig′ə mē] n. [Fr polygamie < Gr polygamia: see POLY & GAMY] 1. the state or practice of having two or more spouses at the same time; plural marriage 2. Zool. the practice of mating with more than one of the opposite sex… …   English World dictionary

  • Polygamy — Toba chieftain and his wives, 1892 Polygamy (from πολύς γάμος polys gamos, translated literally in Late Greek as often married )[1] is a marriage which includes more than two partners.[1] …   Wikipedia

  • polygamy — /peuh lig euh mee/, n. 1. the practice or condition of having more than one spouse, esp. wife, at one time. Cf. bigamy (def. 1), monogamy (def. 1). 2. Zool. the habit or system of mating with more than one individual, either simultaneously or… …   Universalium

  • polygamy — noun /pəˈlɪgəmi/ a) The having of a plurality of socially bonded sexual partners at the same time Originally polygamy could work either or both ways, but civilisation generally forbids simultaneous husbands b) Commonly used specifically for… …   Wiktionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”