bigamy

Meanings

Plural: bigamies

Noun

having two spouses at the same time
the offense of marrying someone while you have a living spouse from whom no valid divorce has occurred
The state of having two (legal or illegal) spouses simultaneously.
A second marriage after the death of a spouse.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English bigamie (“having two spouses simultaneously, bigamy; second marriage; marrying a widow or widower”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman bigamie and Middle French bigamie (“having two spouses simultaneously; second marriage; marrying a widow or widower”) (modern French bigamie (“bigamy”)), and its etymon Late Latin bigamia (“having two spouses simultaneously; second marriage”), from Late Latin, Latin bigamus (“bigamous”) + -ia (variant of -ius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns)). Bigamus is derived from bis (“twice, two times”) + Ancient Greek γάμος (gámos, “marriage; matrimony”) (from Proto-Indo-European *ǵem- (“to marry”)). The English word is analysable as bi- + -gamy.

Synonyms

deuterogamy, digamy

Scrabble Score: 14

bigamy is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
bigamy is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
bigamy is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 16

bigamy is a valid Words With Friends word