ambilocal, a. Anthropol.
(æmbɪˈləʊkəl)
[f. ambi- + local a.: cf. matrilocal a., patrilocal a.]
Designating or pertaining to a system of residence after marriage in which a couple may choose to live in either the husband's or the wife's home or community.
| 1956 R. Needham in Man Feb. xxx. 31/1 ‘Ambilocal’ refers to marital residence in either the husband's or the wife's group. 1960 G. P. Murdock Social Struct. Southeast Asia i. 2 Residence is ambilocal—more often patrilocal than matrilocal among the Yami. Ibid. 157 ‘Ambilocal’ is..preferable for a rule of residence which permits a choice between two unilocal alternatives, the one uxorilocal..and the other virilocal. 1985 Bull. Inst. Ethnol. Acad. Sinica LIX. 167 The kinship system of ancient society as represented by the Shilla dynasty was characterized by cognatic descent, including ambilocal residence. 1988 Ethnology XXVII. iii. 260 Although both factions of Cheyannes..had preferred unilocal residence, the Dawes Act forced them to become bilateral and ambilocal. 1992 Silverberg & Gray Aggression & Peacefulness in Humans & Other Animals 193 Residence is ambilocal, and residence units vary from single households scattered over a band's territory to hamlets where the entire band resides. |
Hence ambiloˈcality n.
| 1973 Ethos Spring 41 The patterns considered most likely to expose a significant proportion of young males to conditions of low adult male salience were matrilocality.., uxorilocality.., and ambilocality. 1984 Barnard & Good Res. Pract. in Study Kinship v. 81 Ambilocality permits a couple to reside either uxorilocally or virilocally. |