Noun
levirate marriage (countable and uncountable, plural levirate marriages)
A marriage in which a widow marries her late husband's brother in order to maintain the family community.
In referring to "men in severalty", Bell is referring to corporate kin groups such as lineages which, in having paid brideprice, retain a right in a woman's offspring even if her husband (a lineage member) deceases ( Levirate marriage ). Source: Internet