monogamy

[muh-nog-uh-mee] /məˈnɒg ə mi/
noun
1.
marriage with only one person at a time.
Compare bigamy, polygamy.
2.
Zoology. the practice of having only one mate.
3.
the practice of marrying only once during life.
Compare digamy.
Origin
1605-15; < Late Latin monogamia < Greek monogamía. See mono-, -gamy
Examples from the web for monogamy
  • His goal in this chaste romance is avoidance of the monotony that monogamy presumably brings.
  • Dim sum frees you from culinary monogamy, never asking you to commit.
  • After 28 years of polygamous marriage, Spencer has lived the last 19 years in monogamy.
  • In the film, Joey is basically a decent guy with some rough edges and an aversion to monogamy.
  • More romantic about monogamy than any group I've ever seen.
  • Serial monogamy may be replacing marriage-for-life.
  • Is the idea of monogamy a perpetuation of patriarchy?
  • As long as we don't make research monogamy a moral imperative.
  • In our own time, everything conspires to persuade us that monogamy is beyond the reach of ordinary humans.
  • Feathers, claws, and beaks of the cranes are also used in drinks and as decorations for promoting monogamy and affection.
British Dictionary definitions for monogamy

monogamy

/mɒˈnɒɡəmɪ/
noun
1.
the state or practice of having only one husband or wife over a period of time Compare bigamy, polygamy (sense 1), digamy
2.
(zoology) the practice of having only one mate
Derived Forms
monogamous, adjective
monogamously, adverb
monogamousness, noun
Word Origin
C17: via French from Late Latin monogamia, from Greek; see mono- + -gamy
Word Origin and History for monogamy
n.

1610s, from French monogamie, from Late Latin monogamia, from Greek monogamia, from monogamos "marrying only once," from monos "single, alone" (see mono-) + gamos "marriage" (see gamete).

monogamy in Medicine

monogamy mo·nog·a·my (mə-nŏg'ə-mē)
n.

  1. The practice or condition of being married to only one person at a time.

  2. The condition of having only one mate.

mo·nog'a·mous adj.
monogamy in Culture
monogamy [(muh-nog-uh-mee)]

A form of marriage in which one man is united with one woman. (Compare polyandry and polygamy.)

Encyclopedia Article for monogamy

the custom that allows a person to be legally married to only one spouse at one time. Appearing in two general forms, monogamy may imply a lifelong contract between two individuals that may be broken only under penalty-as prevails in the Roman Catholic and Hindu prescriptions for marriage-or it may imply that persons are required to be monogamous but may change spouses repeatedly, a practice sometimes called serial monogamy.

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