Editing Polygamy (section)

{{Short description|Marriage to more than one spouse}}
{{Distinguish|Polygyny|Polyamory|Polysexuality}}
{{for-multi|polygamy in non-human animals|Animal sexual behaviour#Polygamy|polygamy in plants|Plant reproductive morphology|the racehorse|Polygamy (horse)}}{{Multiple issues|{{missing information|polygamy in history|date= December 2015}}
{{missing information|polygamy in the Eastern (Orthodox, Coptic, Assyrian) churches|date= July 2020}}}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Anthropology of kinship | concepts}}

'''Polygamy''' (from [[Late Greek]] {{lang|grc|πολυγαμία}} {{translit|grc|polygamía}}, "state of marriage to many spouses")<ref name="Harper">{{OEtymD|polygamy}} {{Cite web |url=http://etymonline.com/?term=Polygamy |title=Polygamy &#124; Etymology, origin and meaning of polygamy by etymonline |access-date=1 February 2016 |archive-date=1 February 2016 |archive-url=https://timetravel.mementoweb.org/memento/20160201154242/etymonline.com/?term=Polygamy |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{LSJ|polugami/a|πολυγαμία|ref}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |work= Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek | title= πολυγαμία | url= http://www.greek-language.gr/greekLang/modern_greek/tools/lexica/triantafyllides/search.html?lq=πολυγαμία | publisher= [[Center for the Greek Language]] | language= el |url-status= live | archive-url= https://archive.today/20160201152346/http://www.greek-language.gr/greekLang/modern_greek/tools/lexica/triantafyllides/search.html?lq=%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%BB%CF%85%CE%B3%CE%B1%CE%BC%CE%AF%CE%B1 | archive-date= 1 February 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title= Dictionary of Modern Greek | language= el | first= Georgios | last= Babiniotis | author-link= Georgios Babiniotis | chapter= s.v. πολυγαμία | publisher = Lexicology Centre | year= 2002 |title-link= Babiniotis dictionary }}</ref> is the practice of [[marriage|marry]]ing multiple [[spouse]]s. When a [[man]] is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called [[polygyny]]. When a [[woman]] is married to more than one husband at the same time, it is called [[polyandry]]. In [[sociobiology]] and [[zoology]], researchers use ''polygamy'' in a broad sense to mean any form of multiple [[mating]].

In contrast to polygamy, [[monogamy]] is marriage consisting of only two parties. Like "monogamy", the term "polygamy" is often used in a ''[[de facto]]'' sense, applied regardless of whether a [[State (polity)|state]] recognizes the relationship.<ref group="note">For the extent to which states can and do recognize potentially and actual polygamous forms as valid, see [[Conflict of marriage laws]].</ref>  In many countries, the law only recognises monogamous marriages (a person can only have one spouse, and [[bigamy]] is illegal), but [[adultery]] is not illegal, leading to a situation of ''de facto'' polygamy being allowed without legal recognition for non-official "spouses".

Worldwide, different societies variously encourage, accept or outlaw polygamy. In societies which allow or tolerate polygamy, polygyny is the accepted form in the vast majority of cases. According to the [[Human Relations Area Files|''Ethnographic Atlas Codebook'']], of 1,231 societies noted from 1960 to 1980, 588 had frequent polygyny, 453 had occasional polygyny, 186 were monogamous, and 4 had polyandry<ref name="Atlas">[http://eclectic.ss.uci.edu/~drwhite/worldcul/Codebook4EthnoAtlas.pdf ''Ethnographic Atlas Codebook''] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121118232413/http://eclectic.ss.uci.edu/~drwhite/worldcul/Codebook4EthnoAtlas.pdf |date= 18 November 2012 }} derived from George P. Murdock's ''Ethnographic Atlas'' recording the marital composition of 1231 societies from 1960 to 1980</ref>{{snd}}although more recent research found some form of polyandry in 53 communities, which is more common than previously thought.<ref name="Starkweather2012">{{cite journal|last1=Starkweather |first1=Katherine |first2=Raymond |last2=Hames |url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?context=anthropologyfacpub&article=1049#page=2 |title=A Survey of Non‑Classical Polyandry |journal=Human Nature |year=2012 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=149–72 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925140949/http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?context=anthropologyfacpub&article=1049 |archive-date=25 September 2015 |url-status=live |doi=10.1007/s12110-012-9144-x |pmid=22688804 |s2cid=2008559 |issn=1045-6767 |eissn=1936-4776 |oclc=879353439 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> In cultures which practice polygamy, its prevalence among that population often correlates with [[social class]] and socioeconomic status.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303252577|title= Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies|first= Casey|last= Golomski|date= 6 January 2016|via= ResearchGate|access-date= 17 February 2019|archive-date= 28 July 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200728085751/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303252577_Polygamy_Polygyny_and_Polyandry_Wiley_Blackwell_Encyclopedia_of_Gender_and_Sexuality_Studies_Nancy_Naples_et_al_ed_Malden_MA_John_Wiley_Sons|url-status= live}}</ref> Polygamy (taking the form of polygyny) is most common in a region known as the "polygamy belt" in [[West Africa]] and [[Central Africa]], with the countries estimated to have the highest polygamy prevalence in the world being [[Burkina Faso]], [[Mali]], [[Gambia]], [[Niger]] and [[Nigeria]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Stephanie |last=Kramer |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/12/07/polygamy-is-rare-around-the-world-and-mostly-confined-to-a-few-regions/ |title=Polygamy is rare around the world |website=[[Pew Research Center]] |date=2020-12-07 |access-date=2022-02-14 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407072545/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/12/07/polygamy-is-rare-around-the-world-and-mostly-confined-to-a-few-regions/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

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