Bigamy
/ˈbɪɡ.ə.mi/noun
The act of marrying one person while still legally married to another.
Did you know?Bigamy comes through medieval Latin from Greek roots meaning “twice” + “marriage,” and its cousin ending -gamy also appears in biology in words like monogamy and polygamy.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dwóh₁
“two”
Ancient Greek
Greek
gámos
“marriage, wedding”
Ancient Greek
Greek
dis-
“twice, twofold”
Late Latin
Latin
bigamia
“a second marriage”
Middle English
English
bigamie
“the offense of having two spouses at once”
Modern English
English
bigamy
“the state or crime of being married to two people simultaneously”