Definition of hypergamy in English:
hypergamy
noun hʌɪˈpəːɡəmihīˈpərɡəmē
mass nounThe action of marrying a person of a superior caste or class.
Example sentencesExamples
- All these strata tend to be endogamous or, in the south, observe the marital rule of hypergamy.
- Hockings and Merchant collaborate in the final essay to examine hypergamy and hypogamy in pre-modern Kerala.
- For historical reasons, women in our culture practice hypergamy, the tendency to marry men of higher status than their own.
- Owing to these rules, hypergamy, the marriage of a wealthy woman of lesser status to a man of superior status was not uncommon in the old regime.
- Family connections help here, and hypergamy (marriage into a higher class) for both men and women is very important.
Origin
Late 19th century: from hyper- 'above' + Greek gamos 'marriage'.