polygyny

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

To compensate for the disappearance of so many young men, who were the laborers most preferred by plantation owners, many African ethnic groups adopted polygyny, allowing men to take multiple wives.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

While the tomb reveals evidence of polygyny - men having children with multiple women - it also shows that polyandry was also widespread: women having children with multiple men.

From BBC • Dec. 23, 2021

That’s why some 16 million men today can trace their ancestry back to Genghis Khan, a tyrant who pushed polygyny to its physical limits.

From Washington Post • Apr. 15, 2015

Unlike polygyny, where one man is married to multiple women, most polyamorists aren’t motived by religion.

From Slate • Jun. 13, 2013

A notable feature of their customs is that both polygyny and polyandry are permitted, this being the only instance of the latter practice so far observed among the tribes of the Philippines.

From Negritos of Zambales by Reed, William Allan