polygynistn.adj.
/pəˈlɪdʒᵻnɪst/, /pɒˈlɪdʒᵻnɪst/, U.S. /pəˈlɪdʒᵻnəst/ A. n.
A person who practises or favours polygyny; a man who has several wives. Also: a male animal that has more than one mate.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > types of marriage custom or practice > [noun] > polygamy > polygyny > one who
polygynist1876
1876 H. Spencer Princ. Sociol. I. iii. iv. §285 The Fuegians..are polygynists.
1915 Amer. Anthropologist 17 410 Man being naturally a polygynist he will indulge himself with more than one wife whenever he is allowed.
1957 M. Banton West Afr. City xi. 198 Very many of these cases of ‘woman palaver’ arise out of tension between the wives of polygynists.
2001 Aquarist & Pondkeeper Apr. 36/1 A. cacatuoides is a ‘harem polygynist’, meaning that males breed with several females (the harem) although they can be kept as pairs.
B. adj.
= polygynous adj. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > types of marriage custom or practice > [adjective] > relating to or practising polygamy > relating to or practising polygyny
polygynic1866
polygynous1874
polygynist1911
1911 G. B. Shaw Getting Married Pref. in Doctor's Dilemma 139 It may now be asked why the polygynist nations have not gravitated to monogamy, like the latter-day saints of Salt Lake City.
1960 E. Colson Soc. Organization of Gwenbe Tonga iv. 105 The polygynist family is..the ideal type for the Valley.
2002 Jrnl. Health & Human Services Admin. 24 259 In a polygynist setting, high male mortality leads to higher numbers of widows.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1876