Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

polygyny

/pəˈlɪd͡ʒ.ɪ.ni/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.99 in modern English

Syllables: polyg-y-ny
IPA: /pəˈlɪd͡ʒ.ɪ.ni/

20

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

4

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The state or practice of a man having more than one wife at a time; plurality of wives; marriage between one man and multiple wives.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The condition of an ant colony that has multiple egg-laying queens.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Synonym of polygamy.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"We may infer that in most cases where polygyny exists, monogamy co-exists to a greater extent, and in all other cases to a considerable extent."

Etymology

From Ancient Greek πολύ (polú, “many”) + γυνή (gunḗ, “woman, wife”). By surface analysis, poly- + -gyny.

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: πολύ

Usage

Inflected Forms

polygynies (plural)

Derived Forms

polygynist polygynous

Frequently Paired Words

oligogyny bigamy polyandry oligandry

Synonyms

polygamy

Antonyms

monogyny monogamy

Rhymes With

aborigine

Questions

How do you pronounce polygyny?: The recorded pronunciation is /pəˈlɪd͡ʒ.ɪ.ni/.
What does polygyny mean?: The state or practice of a man having more than one wife at a time; plurality of wives; marriage between one man and multiple wives.
Where does polygyny come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce polygyny

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “polygyny”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pəˈlɪd͡ʒ.ɪ.ni/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “polygyny” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.