polygynandry

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UK/pɒlid͡ʒɪˈnændɹi/US/pɑlid͡ʒɪˈnændɹi/

noun

A mating pattern involving multiple males and multiple females.

First used 20th c.Scrabble 25
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Meanings

nounpolygynandry (uncountable)
  1. uncountableanthropologyA mating pattern involving multiple males and multiple females.First known use 20th c.

    If you've never heard of polygynandry before, this isn't surprising because it is a very unusual mating system, found only in a tiny number of vertebrate species and in no other primates.

    2016, David P. Barash, Out of Eden, Oxford, page 29

Origin

From polygyn(y) + (poly)andry.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

polygynandry. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polygynandry

MLA

“polygynandry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polygynandry. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “polygynandry,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polygynandry.

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