co-wife

plural co-wives

1. In a polygamous marriage, another wife of a woman’s husband.

   If a co-wife had sought the lives of those three of thine.

   1892, Kipling & Balestier, Naulahka, page 247

   3 more examples

   In fact, [Ayesha] was more jealous of Khadija, the dead wife, than she was of any of her living co-wives.

   1990, Syed A. A. Razwy, Khadija-tul-Kubra (the Wife of the Prophet Muhammed) May Allah be Pleased with Her: A Short Story of Her Life), page 165

   If the senior wife decides to make life unbearable for her co-wife and their husband, she is likely to succeed in forcing the newcomer to leave.

   2000, Marjorie Shostak, Nisa, the life and words of a ǃKung woman, page 152

   In other words, polygamous societies differ markedly with regards to allowing kin, especially sisters, to become co-wives. Sororal polygamy is practised in some societies because it is believed to foster greater cohesiveness among co-wives sharing values and norms, whereas it is specifically forbidden in other polygamous societies.

   2008, Miriam Koktvedgaard Zeitzen, Polygamy: a cross-cultural analysis, page 32

   Synonyms: co-bride, fellow-wife, wife-in-law