digamy
A man and a woman exchange rings in a simple ceremony, celebrating his digamy.
Definition
- Noun:
- Marriage after a previous marriage has ended: "digamy" refers to the state or practice of being married a second time, typically after the first marriage has been dissolved by death or divorce (as opposed to bigamy, which is marrying while still legally married to another person).
Usage Examples
- (She married a second time.)
- (The practice of remarrying is viewed differently.)
- (Religious views on second marriages have changed.)
Advanced Usage
"to contract digamy": to enter into a second marriage.
- The king contracted digamy after his first queen died without an heir. (He married again to secure a successor.)
"digamy vs. bigamy": a common distinction in legal and theological contexts; digamy is lawful (after the first marriage ends), while bigamy is illegal (marrying while still married).
- The court clarified that the defendant's actions constituted digamy, not bigamy, as his first wife had died. (The second marriage was lawful because the first marriage was over.)
Variants and Related Words
Digamist (n): a person who practices or has undergone digamy.
- As a digamist, she attended support groups for widows and widowers who remarried. (A person who has married a second time.)
Digamous (adj): relating to or characterized by digamy.
- The digamous ceremony was simpler than the first wedding. (The second marriage ceremony was less elaborate.)
Synonyms
- Remarriage: the act of marrying again.
- Second marriage: a marriage following a previous one.
- Deuterogamy (formal/rare): a technical term for a second marriage, especially in theological discussions.
Related Idioms
"To take a second spouse": to marry again.
- He decided to take a second spouse after a long period of mourning. (He chose to remarry.)
"A second trip to the altar": a colloquial expression for a second marriage.
- Their second trip to the altar was a quiet affair. (Their remarriage was a small ceremony.)