What does deuterogamy mean?
Deuterogamy refers to a second marriage — a union entered into after a first marriage has ended, whether through the death of a spouse or through divorce. The word is built on Greek roots: 'deuteros,' meaning 'second,' and 'gamos,' meaning 'marriage,' the same combining element seen in monogamy, polygamy, and bigamy. It is a formal, learned term rather than an everyday one, appearing most often in historical, legal, sociological, and ecclesiastical discussions of marriage practice. In some older Christian contexts, particularly debates over clerical remarriage after widowhood, it carried specific doctrinal weight. Today it holds no judgmental connotation; it simply names, with etymological precision, the act or state of marrying twice. Writers reach for it when they want exactness or a scholarly register that plain 'remarriage' does not quite convey.
nounA second marriage, entered into after the death of one's first spouse or after a divorce; in some historical and legal contexts, specifically remarriage following widowhood.
- A second marriage contracted after the end of a first (through death or divorce).
"After two years of widowhood, her deuterogamy surprised no one who knew how happily the couple had courted."
"The Victorian church's uneasy attitude toward deuterogamy softened considerably over the century."
"His deuterogamy at fifty brought him more contentment than his first union ever had."
Rarely pluralized; used mainly when comparing instances across individuals or communities.
"The study examined deuterogamies across three generations of the same village."
The 'deutero-' in deuterogamy is the same Greek root that gives us Deuteronomy — literally the 'second law' — so a second wedding shares its prefix with the Bible's fifth book.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of deuterogamy
Deuterogamy derives from ancient Greek: 'deuteros' (second) combined with 'gamos' (marriage), joined by the connecting vowel '-o-'. It entered English as part of the family of learned 'gamy' terms coined from Greek roots to describe forms of marriage, alongside monogamy, polygamy, and digamy. Its cognates are thus the other English words built on 'gamos' rather than direct borrowings from a shared modern language.
How deuterogamy is actually used
A formal, scholarly term found chiefly in historical, sociological, and religious writing about marriage customs; it carries no negative connotation, though it may sound clinical or archaic to general readers.
Easily confused with deuterogamy
Digamy is an older synonym for a second marriage, especially remarriage after widowhood, while deuterogamy is the more learned Greek-derived term for any second marriage.