trigamy
(ˈtrɪgəmɪ)
[ad. late L. trigamia, a. Gr. (eccl.) τριγαµία, f. τρίγαµος: see prec. So F. trigamie (Littré).]
1. Eccl. Law. Marriage for the third time after the death of former wives or husbands. ? Obs.
| 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 82 For them [priests] it is lawfull to marry: but bigamy is forbidden them, and trigamy detested in the Laity. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl., Trigamy, a third marriage; or the state of a person who has been married three times... In the ancient church, trigamy was only allowed to such as had no children by their former marriages. |
2. The state of having three wives or husbands at the same time; the crime of contracting a third marriage while two previous spouses are alive.
| a 1634 Coke On Litt. iii. xxvii. (1648) 88 The difference between Bygamy, or Trigamy, &c. and Polygamy. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Trigamy, (Gr.) the having three Husbands or three Wives at once. 1884 Chr. World 16 Oct. 795/5 A woman 30 years of age was charged with trigamy, all three husbands being still alive. |