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polygyny

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po⋅lyg⋅y⋅ny

  [puh-lij-uh-nee]
–noun
1. the practice or condition of having more than one wife at one time.
2. (among male animals) the habit or system of having two or more mates, either simultaneously or successively.
3. (among social insects) the condition of having two or more functioning queens in a colony.
4. Botany. the state or condition of having many pistils or styles.
Use polygyny in a Sentence
Compare monogyny.

Origin:
1770–80; < Gk polygýn(aios) having many wives (see poly-, gyn- ) + -y 3
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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po·lyg·y·ny   (pə-lĭj'ə-nē)   
n.  

  1. The condition or practice of having more than one wife at one time.

  2. Zoology A mating pattern in which a male mates with more than one female in a single breeding season.

po·lyg'y·nous adj.
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

polygyny 
1780, "having many wives," from poly- "many" (see poly-) + Gk. gyne "woman, wife" (see queen).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: po·lyg·y·ny
Pronunciation: p&-'lij-&-nE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -nies
: the stateor practice of having more than one wife or female mate at one time —compare POLYANDRY, POLYGAMY —po·lyg·y·nous /-n&s/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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