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Bigamy

 - 4 dictionary results

big⋅a⋅my

  [big-uh-mee]
Use Bigamy in a Sentence
–noun, plural -mies.
1. Law. the crime of marrying while one has a wife or husband still living, from whom no valid divorce has been effected.
2. Ecclesiastical. any violation of canon law concerning marital status that would disqualify a person from receiving holy orders or from retaining or surpassing an ecclesiastical rank.
Origin:
1200–50; ME bigamie < ML bigamia (LL bigam(us) bigamous + L -ia -y 3 )
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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big·a·my   (bĭg'ə-mē)   
n.  The criminal offense of marrying one person while still legally married to another.

[Middle English bigamie, from Old French, from Medieval Latin bigamia, from Late Latin bigamus, twice married : Latin bi-, two; see bi-1 + Greek gamos, marriage; see -gamous.]
big'a·mist n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

bigamy 
c.1250, from O.Fr. bigamie, from L.L. bigamus "twice married," from bi- "double" + Gk. gamos "marrying" (see gamete).
"Bigamie is unkinde ðing, On engleis tale, twie-wifing." [c.1250]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: big·a·my
Pronunciation: 'bi-g&-mE
Function: noun
Etymology: Medieval Latin bigamia, ultimately from Latin bi- two + Greek gamos marriage
: the crime of marrying someone while still legally married to someone else —compare POLYGAMY —big·a·mist /-mist/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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