The Collaborative International Dictionary
Polygamous \Po*lyg"a*mous\, a. [Gr. ? living ? polygamy; poly`s many + ? marriage. Cf. Bigamy.]
Of or pertaining to polygamy; characterized by, or involving, polygamy; having a plurality of wives; as, polygamous marriages; -- opposed to monogamous.
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(Zo["o]l.) Pairing with more than one female.
Most deer, cattle, and sheep are polygamous.
--Darwin. (Bot.) Belonging to the Polygamia; bearing both hermaphrodite and unisexual flowers on the same plant.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Wiktionary
a. Of, relating to, or practicing polygamy.
WordNet
adj. having more than one mate at a time; used of relationships and individuals [ant: monogamous]
having several forms of gametoecia on the same plant [syn: heteroicous, polyoicous]
Usage examples of "polygamous".
Unlike the latter species, the bonobo had not been partially monogamous with polygamous and polyandrous tendencies.
Following the model of his hero, Houston, he had abandoned European comforts and had taken two Comanche women in polygamous marriage.
A recent writer, in some respects of considerable merit, proposes (to use his own words,) not a crusade, but a civilizade, against this polygamous community, to put an end to what seems to him a retrograde step in civilization.