Polygamy in the context of "Late Greek"

A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom she attended. Although she may either have received a retainer or may not have received compensation for the service she rendered, a lady-in-waiting was considered more of a secretary, courtier, or companion to her mistress than a servant.

In some other parts of the world, the lady-in-waiting, often referred to as palace woman, was in practice a servant or a slave rather than a high-ranking woman, but still had about the same tasks, functioning as companion and secretary to her mistress. In courts where polygamy was practiced, a court lady might have been formally available to the monarch for sexual services, and she could become his wife, consort, courtesan, or concubine.

Bandeirantes (Portuguese: [bɐ̃dejˈɾɐ̃tʃis]; lit. 'flag-carriers'; singular: bandeirante) were frontiersmen and explorers in colonial Brazil who, from the early 16th century, participated in inland expeditions to find precious metals and enslave indigenous peoples. They played a major role in expanding Brazil's borders to its approximate modern-day limits, beyond the boundaries demarcated by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas.

Most bandeirantes hailed from São Paulo, then a small village in the Captaincy of São Vicente from 1534 to 1709 and later the Captaincy of São Paulo from 1720 to 1821. Some bandeirantes were descended from Portuguese colonists who settled in São Paulo, but most were of mameluco descent with both Portuguese and indigenous ancestry. This was due to miscegenation being the norm in colonial Brazilian society, as well as polygamy.

Sexual partners are people who engage in sexual activity together. The sexual partners may be in a committed relationship, either on an exclusive basis or not, or engage in the sexual activity on a casual basis. They may be on intimate terms (in which case they are often referred to as "lovers") or anonymous, as in the case of sex with a stranger, a one-night stand, or a prostitute. A person can be another person's sexual partner even if the sexual activity is illegal, socially taboo, or otherwise in breach of a trust or commitment. A person may have only one or more than one sexual partner at any one time, either as polyamory, polygamy or in contravention of convention.

As such, the term sexual partner can be applied to both consenting and non-consenting sexual relationships.

Polygamy is "the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time". Polygamy has been practiced by many cultures throughout history.

Although the Old Testament describes numerous examples of polygyny (one male, one wife with multiple concubines) among devotees to God, most Christian groups have historically rejected the practice of polygamy and have upheld monogamy alone as normative. Nevertheless, some Christian groups in different periods have practiced, or currently do practice, polygamy. Some Christians actively debate whether the New Testament or Christian ethics allows or forbids polygamy and there are several Christian views on the Old Covenant.

Polygyny (/pəˈlɪdʒɪni/) is a form of polygamy entailing the marriage of a man to several women. The term polygyny is from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (polugunía); from Ancient Greek πολύ (polú) 'many' and γυνή (gunḗ) 'woman, wife'.

Polyandry (/ˈpɒliˌændri, ˌpɒliˈæn-/; from Ancient Greek πολύ (polú) 'many' and ἀνήρ (anḗr) 'man') is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of "husbands and wives" participants of each gender, then it can be called polygamy, group or conjoint marriage. In its broadest use, polyandry refers to sexual relations with multiple males within or without marriage.

Of the 1,231 societies listed in the 1980 Ethnographic Atlas, 186 were found to be monogamous, 453 had occasional polygyny, 588 had more frequent polygyny, and four had polyandry. Polyandry is less rare than this figure suggests, as it considered only those examples found in the Himalayan mountain region (eight societies). More recent studies have found at least four other societies practicing polyandry.

Group marriage or conjoint marriage is a marital arrangement where three or more adults enter into sexual, affective, romantic, or otherwise intimate short- or long-term partnerships, and share in any combination of finances, residences, care or kin work. Group marriage is considered a form of polygamy. While academic usage has traditionally treated group marriage as a marital arrangement, more recent usage has expanded the concept to allow for the inclusion of non-conjugal unions. Colloquial usage of group marriage has also been associated with polyamory and polyamorous families.

The House of Zhu was the imperial house that ruled the Ming dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644. Rump states of the Ming dynasty (collectively known as the Southern Ming) continued in the southern region until 1662, but the territory gradually decreased. The Ming dynasty was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people. After its downfall, China was conquered by the Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1644–1912). The Han-led state was only restored after the fall of the Qing dynasty, with the establishment of the Republic of China as a nation state in 1912.

The founder of the House of Zhu was Zhu Yuanzhang, the leader of a major rebellion against the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. He and his descendants lifted China to long-term economic prosperity and political stability. Over time, thanks to the polygamy common among the upper classes of Chinese society, the number of male members of the house increased to one hundred thousand. Except for the emperors and heirs to the throne, they were excluded from politics for the sake of government stability.

A husband is a man involved in a marital relationship, commonly referred to as a spouse. The specific rights, responsibilities, and societal status attributed to a husband can vary significantly across different cultures and historical periods, reflecting a global perspective on this role.

In many parts of the world, heterosexual monogamous marriage is the prevailing norm, where a husband and wife form the basic unit of a family. Legal systems in numerous countries enforce monogamy and prohibit bigamy and polygamy. Traditionally, husbands often held the position of being the head of the household and the primary provider, a role that was often considered paternalistic. However, the evolving dynamics of modern society have led to a shift in these roles. Today, a husband is not automatically designated as the sole breadwinner, especially when his spouse pursues a more financially rewarding career. This change reflects a global trend in the changing dynamics of gender roles and family structures.