polycule
/ˈpɑ.li.kjul/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A polyamorous group of individuals connected by their overlapping romantic, sexual, or platonic relationships.
Example Sentences
- "Our polycule doubled in size when my spouse started seeing Boris, whose husband has six other partners."
- "The five of us started calling ourselves a "polycule" back in the fall of 2012, when our relationships and sexual lives were so thoroughly entangled with one another that we looked like several relationship atoms often sharing orbits together."
- "While nonmonogamy doesn't always mean having multiple partners, Ezra's polycule comprises multiple sexual partners."
- "Unbeknownst to him, Janice had, some three weeks prior, broken up with one of her partners from a polycule in Colorado."
- "The duo and eight others comprising the financial whiz’s inner circle shared a tony penthouse in the Bahamas, a living arrangement that some, including tech mogul Elon Musk, reportedly described as a “polycule”– that is, “a connected network of people and relationships, all of whom are in some way involved emotionally, sexually, or romantically with at least one other person”."
- "Sarah is more reserved, especially when it comes to sharing details about “tender” situations, and she’s also protective of the other members of her polycule. What one part of the polycule says about another could have huge, messy ripple effects throughout the whole group."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁-der. Proto-Indo-European *polh₁ús Ancient Greek πολῠ́ς (polŭ́s)lbor. English poly- Proto-Indo-European *h₃emh₃-der. Proto-Italic *amāō Latin amō Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *-ōs Proto-Italic *-ōs Latin -or Latin amor Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ia Old French -ieder. Middle English -ie Middle English -y English -y English polyamory Latin mōlēs Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Proto-Italic *-kelos Latin -cula New Latin mōlēculalbor. French moléculebor. English molecule blend English polycule Blend of polyamory + molecule. First attested in the 2010s.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpɑ.li.kjul/
- British English: /ˈpɒ.lɪ.kjuːl/