Polygyny

The term polygyny (neo-Greek: poly+gyne woman) is used in related ways in social anthropology and sociobiology.

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In social anthropology, polygyny is a marital practice in which a man

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has more than one wife simultaneously. This is the usual form of polygamy. The man may marry more than one woman at the same time, or marry one or more other women while he is already married. The opposite form—where a woman has more than one husband simultaneously—is known as polyandry.

Social anthropology: Social anthropology is the branch of anthropology that studies how contemporary living human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies (including participant observation methods), the social organization of a p...

Polygamy: The term polygamy (literally many marriage in late Greek) is used in related ways in social anthropology and sociobiology....

Polyandry: In social anthropology and sociobiology, polyandry (Greek: poly many, andros man) means a female forming a stable sexual union with more than one male....