Agapemone

A1G2A1P3E1M3O1N1E1
UK/aɡəˈpiːm(ə)ni/UK/aɡəˈpɛm(ə)ni/

proper noun

The base of a religious sect established in Sussex by the Rev. Henry James Prince in the mid-19th century, or a successor establishment in London, which were associated with free love and polygamy.

OriginAncient Greek ἀγάπη →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. historicalThe base of a religious sect established in Sussex by the Rev. Henry James Prince in the mid-19th century, or a successor establishment in London, which were associated with free love and polygamy.

    Four Nottidge sisters fell under the sway of the Agapemone cult, and lived in a commune whose megalomaniac leader forced them to marry his henchmen but forbade consummation of these unions: arguably, they did need rescuing.

    2012, Gillian Tindall, “The Alleged Lunatics' Friend Society”, in Literary Review, section 403
noun
  1. Any community characterised by mutual love or free love.

    This whole war was an agapemone…. You went to war when you desired to rape innumerable women. It was what war was for…. All these men, crowded in this narrow space….

    1925, Ford Madox Ford, No More Parades (Parade's End), Penguin, published 2012, page 397

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekἀγάπη“love”
  2. EnglishAgapemone

Irregular formation from Hellenistic Ancient Greek ἀγάπη (agápē, “love”) and μονή (monḗ, “abode”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

epagomena
Cite this entry
APA

Agapemone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Agapemone

MLA

“Agapemone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Agapemone. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Agapemone,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Agapemone.

Source: Agapemone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.