Noun
The state or practice of having several wives at the same time; marriage to several wives.
Source: Webster's dictionaryAmerican Anthropologist, Volume 90, Issue 4, December 1988, p. 873. Types Polygynous marriages can be distinguished between sororal polygyny, in which the co-wives are sisters, and non-sororal, where the co-wives are not related. Source: Internet
Desire for progeny Most research into the determinants of polygyny has focused on macro-level factors. Source: Internet
At the same time, men were free to maintain sexual relations with any women ( polygyny ) provided that the women didn't already have husbands or "owners." Source: Internet
Gerry Mackie has suggested that infibulation originated there with the Meroite civilization (c. 800 BCE — c. 350 CE) and imperial polygyny, before the rise of Islam, to increase confidence in paternity. Source: Internet
Clignet, R., Many Wives, Many Powers, Northwestern University Press, Evanston (1970), p. 17. Generally in rural areas with growing populations, the higher the incidence of polygyny, the greater the delay of first marriage for young men. Source: Internet
Despite a correlation between size dimorphism and the degree of polygyny, some evidence suggests that size differences between the sexes originated due to ecological differences and prior to the development of polygyny. Source: Internet