Polygyny

Polygyny (/pəˈlɪdʒɪniː/; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία from πολύ- poly- ""many"", and γυνή gyne ""woman"" or ""wife"") is a form of plural marriage, in which a man is allowed more than one wife (i.e., it is a narrow form of polygamy, and distinguished from other forms of polygamy such as polyandry). In modern countries that permit polygamy, polygyny is typically the only form permitted.In countries where polygamy is illegal, someone who marries a person while lawfully married to another commits the crime of bigamy. In some countries where polygamy is illegal, and sometimes even when legal, at times it is known for men to have one or more mistresses, whom they do not marry. The status of a mistress is not that of a wife, and any children born of such relationships were (and some still are) considered illegitimate and subject to legal disabilities.