polygamous

/pəˈlɪɡəməs/

//pəˈlɪɡəməs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"polygamous" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“polygamous” is uncommon English (frequency #51,322 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,322
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of, relating to, or practicing polygamy.

Corpus desk

Index EN-polygamous · polygamous · English

polygamous · rank #51,322 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,322
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH polenta

Nearest frequency peer: polenta (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “polygamous”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “polygamous” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for polygamous
PropertyValue
Headwordpolygamous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/pəˈlɪɡəməs/
Letters10
Frequency rank#51,322
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “polygamous” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).polygamousfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “polenta” (#51,321), “powerlessness” (#51,323), “preteen” (#51,324). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “polygamous” is #51,322. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

polygamous is uncommon English at frequency #51,322 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /pəˈlɪɡəməs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for polygamous in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From poly- + -gamous. The correct English form is polygamous, spelled P-O-L-Y-G-A-M-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of, relating to, or practicing polygamy.
  2. 2
    Exhibiting polygamy.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how polygamous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. That Mormon community no longer practises polygamous relationships.
  2. […] declaring legitimate all children of LDS polygamous marriages […]

Etymology

From poly- + -gamous.

This word in other languages

polígamo(Español)polygame(Français)polygam(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "polygamous"?
"polygamous" is spelled P-O-L-Y-G-A-M-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈlɪɡəməs/.
What does "polygamous" mean?
As an adjective, "polygamous" means: Of, relating to, or practicing polygamy.
How do you pronounce "polygamous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "polygamous" is /pəˈlɪɡəməs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "polygamous"?
From poly- + -gamous. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "polygamous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

prosciutto#51,330mirrorless#51,254microbiota#51,245methionine#51,243

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list