sister-wife

plural sister-wives · alternative sister wife

1. A woman who is simultaneously sister and wife to her spouse.

   Ptolemy VII […] married Cleopatra, the sister-wife of his predecessor.

   1853, Henry N. Humphreys, The coin collector's manual, page 118

   2 more examples

   My Grecians shall victorious prove, By me led on to War, the Sister-Wife of Jove.

   1743, trans. Philip Francis, “Odes”, in Horace, volume III, iii, page 64

   Anat as sister-wife of Baal, Isis as mother of Horos and sister-wife of Osiris, Hera as sister-wife of Zeus

   1974, Joseph Fontenrose, Python: A Study of Delphic Myth and Its Origins, page 257

2. In a polygamous marriage, a woman who is simultaneously the sister and co-wife of another.

   But thinking of Sarah as her rival in the tepee, as her sister-wife, froze Mary Amanda's heart.

   1950, Dorothy M. Johnson, Flame on the Frontier; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 21

   1 more example

   Enmities between sister-wives will [be,] from their having known each other too intimately all their lives, more unmannerly than where they are strangers to each other

   1853, quoted in Robert Cox, Sabbath Laws and Sabbath Duties, page 194

3. A co-wife in general.

   Yüeh-niang and her sister-wives, all dressed in formal gowns, came out from inside to greet them and ushered them into the rear reception hall

   2006, Xiaoxiaosheng, trans. David Tod Roy, The plum in the golden vase, or, Chin P'ing Mei, page 21

   1 more example

   The concept of 'sisterhood' was popularly applied to the official organizations for Mormon women, and Mormon co-wives were and are still known as 'sister-wives'

   2008, Miriam Koktvedgaard Zeitzen, Polygamy: A Cross-Cultural Analysis, page 97