polygynouslyadv.
/pəˈlɪdʒᵻnəsli/, /pɒˈlɪdʒᵻnəsli/, U.S. /pəˈlɪdʒənəsli/ 1. Cultural Anthropology. With more than one wife; in a polygynous context.
ΚΠ
1934 J. K. Folsom Family v. 126 Rebels take special delight in seizing women who have been protected and monopolized, whether polygynously or not, by the former lords and masters.
1951 K. L. Little Mende of Sierra Leone viii. 171 Out of a sample of 62 literate husbands, 38 were polygynously, and 24 monogamously, married.
2000 B. S. Low Why Sex Matters 281 As the degree of polygyny (percentage of men and women polygynously married) increases, boys, but not girls, are taught to show fortitude, be aggressive and industrious.
2. Zoology. In a manner characterized by polygyny (polygyny n. 2); with each male mating with several females.
ΚΠ
1978 Nature 18 May 193/1 Unmated females will only breed polygynously when they improve their fitness by doing so.
1991 Behavioral Ecol. 2 106 The only way a polygynously mated female might successfully increase the amount of male assistance at her nest is to make her own brood more valuable for the male.
2003 Ornithol. Sci. 2 113 Nest predation disturbs the nesting cycles of polygynously mated females.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.1934