What is "hypergamy"

n. Act or practice of seeking a spouse of higher socioeconomic status, or caste status than oneself.

Hypergamy (colloquially referred to as "marrying up") is a term used in social science for the act or practice of a woman marrying a man of higher caste or social status than herself.

The word "hypogamy" typically refers to instances of the inverse occurring: marrying a man of lower social class or status.

Both the terms were coined in India in the 19th century while translating classical Hindu law books, which used the Sanskrit terms anuloma and pratiloma for the two concepts.