polygamy, marriage to more than one spouse at a time. The most typical forms of polygamy have been polygyny, in which cowives share a husband, or polyandry, in which cohusbands share a wife. However, same-sex marriage may instigate new forms of polygamy.

The term polygamy is often used as a synonym for polygyny, which appears once to have been fairly common worldwide. Nowhere, however, have any of these been the exclusive form of marriage.