What does digamy mean?
Digamy refers to a second marriage undertaken after a first marriage has ended, most commonly through the death of a spouse or through divorce. The word derives from Greek roots meaning 'twice' and 'marriage', making it a precise counterpart to terms like bigamy and monogamy. Unlike bigamy — the criminal offence of having two spouses simultaneously — digamy is entirely lawful wherever remarriage is permitted, which is to say nearly everywhere modern family law operates. Historically, however, the concept carried real weight: early Christian writers debated whether widows and widowers who remarried compromised their devotion, and some Eastern churches developed formal rules governing digamy among both clergy and laity. Today the term survives mainly in scholarly discussions of canon law, social history, and demography, where 'remarriage' serves everyday purposes but 'digamy' offers precision. Its connotations are neutral; it names a status or an event rather than judging it.
nounA second marriage, especially one entered into after the death or divorce of a first spouse; in some legal and religious contexts, the act of marrying a second time.
- The act or state of entering into a lawful second marriage after the first marriage has ended by death or divorce.
- In certain historical church contexts (notably among some Eastern Christian communities), permission for clergy or laity to marry a second time.
"After years as a widower, the professor surprised his students by announcing his digamy at the age of seventy."
"Canon law in several traditions treats digamy more leniently than the crime of bigamy, since the first spouse is no longer living."
"The novel traces her journey from widowhood to digamy, and the social whispers that accompanied it."
Rarely pluralized; used mainly when counting multiple instances across cases or populations.
"The parish records listed several digamies among the congregation over the century."
Digamy was once so controversial that early Christian writers debated whether a second marriage was a sin — yet today it describes something as ordinary as remarrying after divorce.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of digamy
Digamy comes from the Greek 'digamia', formed from 'dis' meaning 'twice' and 'gamos' meaning 'marriage'. It passed into Latin as 'digamia' before entering English in the early modern period, where it took root primarily in legal and ecclesiastical discourse. It belongs to a productive family of Greek-derived marriage terms, including monogamy, polygamy, and bigamy, all built on the same root 'gamos'.
How digamy is actually used
Digamy is a formal, largely academic term found chiefly in legal, theological, and historical writing; in everyday speech people say 'remarriage'. It carries no inherent negative connotation, though its rarity can lend it a slightly archaic flavor.
Easily confused with digamy
Bigamy is the crime of marrying someone while still legally married to another, whereas digamy is simply a lawful second marriage after a first has ended through death or divorce.