bigamy

[big-uh-mee] /ˈbɪg ə mi/
noun, plural bigamies.
1.
Law. the crime of marrying while one has a spouse 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; Middle English bigamie < Medieval Latin bigamia (Late Latin bigam(us) bigamous + Latin -ia -y3)
Can be confused
bigamy, polyandry, polygamy, polygyny.
Examples from the web for bigamy
  • bigamy is illegal almost everywhere for good reason.
  • The charges are related to underage marriages and bigamy.
  • The bigamy statute is sufficiently definite to discourage arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.
  • In addition, there are strong presumptions in favor of the validity of a second marriage and against bigamy.
  • She disclosed her story despite the humiliation of her husband's bigamy and her abandonment.
British Dictionary definitions for bigamy

bigamy

/ˈbɪɡəmɪ/
noun (pl) -mies
1.
the crime of marrying a person while one is still legally married to someone else
Derived Forms
bigamist, noun
bigamous, adjective
bigamously, adverb
Word Origin
C13: via French from Medieval Latin bigamus; see bi-1, -gamy
Word Origin and History for bigamy
n.

"state of having two wives or husbands at the same time," mid-13c., from Old French bigamie (13c.), from Church Latin bigamia, from Late Latin bigamus "twice married," a hybrid from bi- "double" (see bi-) + Greek gamos "marrying" (see gamete). The Greek word was digamos "twice married."

Bigamie is unkinde ðing, On engleis tale, twie-wifing. [c.1250]
In Middle English, also of two successive marriages or marrying a widow.