endogamy
(ɛnˈdɒgəmɪ)
[f. as prec. on the analogy of polygamy.]
1. The custom of marrying only within the limits of a clan or tribe. Hence endoˈgamic a. [see -ic], pertaining to endogamy.
| 1865 McLennan Prim. Marriage 48 note, The words endogamy and exogamy are new. 1875 Lubbock Orig. Civiliz. iii. 95 Some tribes branched off into endogamy, others into exogamy. 1873 Contemp. Rev. XXII. 423 The transition..from the exogamic to the endogamic system. |
2. Bot. The fusion or coalescence of two or more female gametes.
| 1937 Gwynne-Vaughan & Barnes Struct. & Devel. Fungi (ed. 2) 5 The power of movement of attached gametangia is very limited, so that, when endogamy is possible, it is likely to occur. |