plural marriage

noun

1. polygamy ( def 1 ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of plural marriage¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

And also: Fertility was highly socially valued; more children meant more community respect, a higher chance that a husband remained faithful, and more status in a family with plural marriage; and children offered young mothers a chance to break from the drudgery and intense physical labor of everyday life and engage in play and acts of love and caregiving.

From Slate

But in Illinois, Smith was arrested for inciting a riot after he endorsed the destruction of the printing presses belonging to a dissident newspaper that had criticized Smith for plural marriage and other controversial doctrines.

From Los Angeles Times

Jon Krakauer’s propulsive nonfiction bestseller uses a horrific double murder committed by fundamentalist Mormon brothers in 1984 to explore the turbulent history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its renunciation of plural marriage in 1890 and the origins of radical polygamist sects in which child sexual abuse is widespread.

From Los Angeles Times

Mormon pioneers settled here after being driven out of other states in part because of their beliefs in plural marriage.

From Washington Times

Reality TV polygamist Kody Brown and his wives sued the state and won, effectively decriminalizing plural marriage as a religious belief.

From Washington Times