homogamy

English

Etymology

From homo- +‎ -gamy.

Pronunciation

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Noun

homogamy (uncountable)

1. (botany) Fertilization of a flower by pollen from the same plant.
2. (biology) Breeding between similar individuals.

   Synonym: inbreeding

   Antonym: heterogamy

3. (sociology) Marriage or other union between similar people, or people of the same sex.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:intermarriage

   Antonyms: heterogamy; see also Thesaurus:intermarriage

   • 2018 December 21, Stuart Jeffries, “Germany’s Hidden Crisis by Oliver Nachtwey review – social decline in the heart of Europe”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     Surgeons no longer pursue nurses as they did when the former were most likely men and the latter women; now they go for anaesthetists or other surgeons. In one sense homogamy is desirable, because it means women are less dependent on status-asymmetric marriages; in another, it’s dismal because it constitutes a form of social closure […]

Related terms

• homogamous