polygamy
/pəˈlɪɡ.ə.mi/
"polygamy" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“polygamy” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #26,555 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #26,555
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The condition of having more than one spouse or marriage partner at one time.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | polygamy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pəˈlɪɡ.ə.mi/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #26,555 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “polygamy” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for polygamy is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pəˈlɪɡ.ə.mi/. Corpus data places it at rank #26,555 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for polygamy, with forms such as "oplygamy", "ploygamy", and "polgyamy". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Recorded since 1591, from Late Latin polygamia, from Ancient Greek πολυγαμία (polugamía), itself from πολύγαμος (polúgamos, “married to many”), from πολύς (polús, “many”) + γάμος (gámos, “marriage”). Relates to modern prefix and suffix poly- + -gamy. The correct English form is polygamy, spelled P-O-L-Y-G-A-M-Y.
Definition
- 1The condition of having more than one spouse or marriage partner at one time.
- 2Synonym of polygyny (“marriage of a man to more than one wife, the practice of having several wives at the same time”).
- 3The state or habit of having more than one sexual mate.
- 4The condition or state of a plant which bears both perfect and unisexual flowers.
Etymology
Recorded since 1591, from Late Latin polygamia, from Ancient Greek πολυγαμία (polugamía), itself from πολύγαμος (polúgamos, “married to many”), from πολύς (polús, “many”) + γάμος (gámos, “marriage”). Relates to modern prefix and suffix poly- + -gamy.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: oplygamy,ploygamy,polgyamy,pollygamy,polyagmy,polygammy,polygamyy,polygaym,polyggamy,polygmay,polyygamy,poylgamy,ppolygamy
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of polygamy - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "polygamy"?
What does "polygamy" mean?
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Using “polygamy”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-O-L-Y-G-A-M-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pəˈlɪɡ.ə.mi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.