bigamy
Meanings
noun
- The state of having two (legal or illegal) spouses simultaneously.
- A second marriage after the death of a spouse.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Middle English bigamie (“having two spouses simultaneously, bigamy; second marriage; marrying a widow or widower”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman bigamie and Middle French bigamie (“having two spouses simultaneously; second marriage; marrying a widow or widower”) (modern French bigamie (“bigamy”)), and its etymon Late Latin bigamia (“having two spouses simultaneously; second marriage”), from Late Latin, Latin bigamus (“bigamous”) + -ia (variant of -ius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns)). Bigamus is derived from bis (“twice, two times”) + Ancient Greek γάμος (gámos, “marriage; matrimony”) (from Proto-Indo-European *ǵem- (“to marry”)). The English word is analysable as bi- + -gamy.
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