sororate

sororate
/sawr"euh rayt', sohr"-/, n.
subsequent or concurrent marriage with a wife's sister.
[1905-10; < L soror- (s. of soror) SISTER + -ATE3]

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      custom or law decreeing that a widower should, or in rare cases must, marry his deceased wife's sister. The term comes from the Latin word soror, “sister,” and was introduced by the British anthropologist Sir James George Frazer (Frazer, Sir James George). The “sister” may be a biological or adopted (adoption) sibling of the first wife or a person who is socially classified as such. The sororate often co-occurs with the levirate, or marriage of a widow to her deceased husband's brother. They appear to be the most common of preferential secondary marriages. Either may be permissive rather than obligatory.

      Though successive and simultaneous marriages of two or more sisters fall under the same principle, some peoples favour one practice while tabooing (taboo) the other. Serial sororate is less common than sororal polygyny, the marriage of two or more sisters to one man.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • sororate — [sə rôr′it, sə rôr′āt] n. [ModL < L soror, SISTER + ATE2] the custom in some cultures of marrying the younger sister of one s wife, esp. after the wife s death …   English World dictionary

  • Sororate marriage — is the sociological custom of a man marrying (or engaging in sexual activity with) his wife s sister (rarely with her brother), usually after the wife is dead or has proven infertile.From an anthropological standpoint, this type of marriage… …   Wikipedia

  • sororate — noun Etymology: Latin soror Date: 1910 the marriage of one man to two or more sisters usually successively and after the first wife has been found to be barren or after her death …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • sororate — noun The custom of the marriage of a man to the sister of his wife, usually after the wife has died …   Wiktionary

  • sororate — soro·rate …   English syllables

  • sororate — so•ror•ate [[t]ˈsɔr əˌreɪt, ˈsoʊr [/t]] n. marriage with a wife s sister, as following the wife s death • Etymology: 1905–10; < L soror sister …   From formal English to slang

  • sororate — The marriage of a man to his wife s sister …   Grandiloquent dictionary

  • sororate — /ˈsɒrəreɪt/ (say soruhrayt) noun marriage with a wife s sister. {Latin soror sister + ate3} …  

  • sororate — səˈrōrə̇t, ōrˌāt; ˈsȯrəˌrāt noun ( s) Etymology: Latin soror sister + English ate : the marriage of one man with two or more sisters usually successively and after the first wife has been found to be barren or after her death compare levirate,… …   Useful english dictionary

  • sororate marriage — noun A marriage in which a husband engages in marriage or sexual relations with the sister of his wife, usually after the death of his wife, or once his wife has proven infertile. See Also: levirate marriage …   Wiktionary

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