polygamous

American  

[puh-lig-uh-muhs] / pəˈlɪg ə məs /

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, characterized by, or practicing polygamy; polygamic.

2. Botany. bearing both unisexual and hermaphrodite flowers on the same or on different plants of the same species.

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Other Word Forms

• polygamously adverb

Etymology

Origin of polygamous

From the Greek word polýgamos, dating back to 1605–15. See poly-, -gamous

Compare meaning

How does polygamous compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• polyamorous vs. polygamous

Explanation

Someone who's polygamous has more than one husband or wife. Polygamous societies still exist, but it's more common for most people today to be married to one person at a time. You can describe someone with seven husbands as polygamous, and you can also use the word to describe an animal with several mates as well as a plant with a particularly varied reproductive system. The Late Greek source is polygamos, "often married," which combines the roots polys, "many," and gamos, "marriage."

Example Sentences

So far in the 2024-25 financial year, they have identified 13 cases of polygamous working, which has saved £113,000 in recoverable savings.

From BBC • Jan. 26, 2026

Kaajal Nathwani, an employment lawyer at Osborne & Wise, says that while there is currently no formal legal definition of polygamous working, it's a "new phenomenon".

From BBC • Jan. 26, 2026

The new study supports this assumption: In polygamous mammals with strong competition, males generally die earlier than females.

From Science Daily • Oct. 28, 2025

Robyn, who was the last wife to join the previously polygamous group and is Kody’s legal wife, said her husband looked “really shocked” when he came into the room where she was working.

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2025

Flowers diœcious or polygamous, collected in terminal heads, each in the axil of a scaly bract, and with 5 or 6 thin and scarious imbricated bractlets, but no proper calyx.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa