Polygamy is the gneral term for being in a marriage relationship with more than one spouse. Technically, however, it is the equivalent of saying "salad". Rather unspecific. Tossed green? Fruit? Carrot-n-raisin? Macaroni? You get the idea. However, in common use, it generally refers to polygyny. This word seems to bring out the worst prejudice in folks, being often-times emotionally associated with old men forcing under age girls into unwanted marriage using religiously abusive tactics.
Polygyny is the family structure consisting of one husband and more than one wife. This variation of family structure is considered normal and permissible in some 83% of over 1000 cultures sampled worldwide.
Monogamy is one man : one woman only. 17% of the 1000+ cultures sampled set this as the only valid structure for marriage. It is interesting to note that there seems to be a large correlation between these and the influence of the Roman Catholic church.
Polyandry means one woman : multiple husbands. A very few, something like 0.5% of the surveyed cultures, permit this under some conditions. The usual form is for brothers who cannot each afford a wife to share one. The view of this website is that this is not Biblically acceptable.
Polyamory means simply "multiple love partners". A family could be comprised of any of the above, or, say, 2 men and 3 women. Again, not a Biblically acceptable practice, nor a major player world-wide, but has a certain following.
Celibacy means you don't have any marital partners. Theoretically, it also implies refraining from sexual partners as well. Some here consider it to be an unacceptable choice, though sometimes unavoidable. Others consider it to be a perfectly acceptable and honorable choice for a Christian.
Plural Marriage a common term for polygyny. Popularized by the Mormons. Seems to usually produce somewhat less violent knee jerk reaction.
Plyg a pejorative term for those who live in polygamous families, whether the adults or the children. However, some bold (defiant) folks are starting to wear it as a badge of honor, treating it like the term "yankee" -- originally a British pejorative for those who lived in "the colonies".
Sister-wife a common term for one wife to use in describing another. Co-wife is sometimes used. Other woman? *shrug* Sister-wife seems most popular. Sometimes abbreviated as "SW".
DH a common abbreviation meaning "dear hubby".
Spice is used by some as the plural of "spouse".
There has been discussion on this board regarding the terms we use to describe what we believe & do. Some would kind of like to dissociate themselves from the terms "plural marriage" and "polygamy" due to the negative cultural connotations in western society. One of BF's staff members has taken to describing himself as a ...
Biblical Familicist meaning one who actively studies and seeks to pattern his family after the Biblical model, which may or may not include more than one concurrent wife at any given time.
Suggestions for more terms to add to this list? Please e-mail them to Suggestions@BiblicalFamilies.org.