polygyny
noun
po·lyg·y·ny
pə-ˈli-jə-nē 
Examples of polygyny in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For generations, anthropologists have argued whether humans are evolved for monogamy or some other mating system, such as polygyny, polyandry or promiscuity.
—
Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025
For generations, anthropologists have argued whether humans are evolved for monogamy or some other mating system, such as polygyny, polyandry or promiscuity.
—Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025
The transatlantic trade in enslaved people, which produced a dearth of men in West Africa, helps explain the comparatively high prevalence of polygyny there now.
—Stephanie H. Murray, The Atlantic, 26 Sep. 2024
His son has been married four times and resurrected the long-dead institution of polygyny.
—Tamara Loos, Foreign Affairs, 7 Dec. 2020
What does the contemporary West African practice of polygyny—one man, many wives—have to do with the trans-Atlantic slave trade?
—Tunku Varadarajan, wsj.com, 20 Apr. 2023
Hummingbirds have a combination of extraordinarily versatile structural coloration in their feather barbules, and a long history of female mate choice (including, exclusive female parental care and polygyny).
—Grrlscientist, Forbes, 26 June 2022
Christian Artuso, an ornithologist with Bird Studies Canada, tells the magazine that this heretofore unseen behavior is the first documentation of polygyny (a male mating with two or more females) recorded for great horned owls as a species.
—Saryn Chorney, ajc, 3 May 2018
In fact, the causal relationship between polygyny and conflict is unclear.
—The Economist, 18 Jan. 2018
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Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025
For generations, anthropologists have argued whether humans are evolved for monogamy or some other mating system, such as polygyny, polyandry or promiscuity.
—Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025
The transatlantic trade in enslaved people, which produced a dearth of men in West Africa, helps explain the comparatively high prevalence of polygyny there now.
—Stephanie H. Murray, The Atlantic, 26 Sep. 2024
His son has been married four times and resurrected the long-dead institution of polygyny.
—Tamara Loos, Foreign Affairs, 7 Dec. 2020
What does the contemporary West African practice of polygyny—one man, many wives—have to do with the trans-Atlantic slave trade?
—Tunku Varadarajan, wsj.com, 20 Apr. 2023
Hummingbirds have a combination of extraordinarily versatile structural coloration in their feather barbules, and a long history of female mate choice (including, exclusive female parental care and polygyny).
—Grrlscientist, Forbes, 26 June 2022
Christian Artuso, an ornithologist with Bird Studies Canada, tells the magazine that this heretofore unseen behavior is the first documentation of polygyny (a male mating with two or more females) recorded for great horned owls as a species.
—Saryn Chorney, ajc, 3 May 2018
In fact, the causal relationship between polygyny and conflict is unclear.
—The Economist, 18 Jan. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Polygyny.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polygyny. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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