BIGAMY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does bigamy mean? 

• BIGAMY (noun)
  The noun BIGAMY has 2 senses:

1. the state of having two spouses at the same time

2. the offense of marrying someone while you have a living spouse from whom no valid divorce has occurred

  Familiarity information: BIGAMY used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BIGAMY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The state of having two spouses at the same time

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("bigamy" is a kind of...):

marriage; matrimony; spousal relationship; union; wedlock (the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce))

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Derivation:

bigamist (someone who marries one person while already legally married to another)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The offense of marrying someone while you have a living spouse from whom no valid divorce has occurred

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("bigamy" is a kind of...):

regulatory offence; regulatory offense; statutory offence; statutory offense (crimes created by statutes and not by common law)

Derivation:

bigamist (someone who marries one person while already legally married to another)

bigamous (of illegal marriage to a second person while legally married to a first)