Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. fertilization of a flower by pollen from the same plant
- n. breeding between similar individuals; inbreeding
- n. marriage or other union between similar people, or people of the same sex
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. The condition of being homogamous.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The state of being homogamous; fertilization in a plant when the stamens and pistil of a hermaphrodite flower mature simultaneously.
- n. Assortative mating; the pairing or mating of animals, or the marriage of human beings, with some common distinctive characteristic considered apart from the question whether the mating is due to conscious selection of, or preference for, this characteristic or is unintentional or unconscious; sexual selection in its widest sense.
Etymologies
Examples
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I don't think we need to introduce spouses, or label our marriage licenses, with the terms homogamy and heterogamy.
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Their emphasis on "compatibility" and their "compatibility" profile that leads to people getting matched on what's called homogamy (or sameness) are all part of their philosophical approach: people who share the same values -- preferably conservative -- belong together.
Adam Hanft: The eHarmony Agenda Gets Called Out On National TV
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Researchers already use "homogamy" a lot in family studies, but always to refer to similarity between partners on everything else except sex/gender.
Philip N. Cohen: Take My Words For It: Homogamy and Heterogamy
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And my recent concentration on language regarding union or marriage types (homogamy and heterogamy), on the one hand, and sexual dimorphism/gender on the other, made me sensitive to my first lesson.
Philip N. Cohen: Good Woman Child Language (Talking Characters in Taiwan)
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"The rise in homogamy among young couples poses a challenge for the prom police in many schools ..."
Philip N. Cohen: Take My Words For It: Homogamy and Heterogamy
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(Plus, why "sex" instead of "gender"?) Also, unlike "gay marriage," for example, homogamy and heterogamy don't presume to differentiate people based on their sexual orientation -- which is not a prerequisite for any kind of marriage.
Philip N. Cohen: Take My Words For It: Homogamy and Heterogamy
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As in "educational homogamy" for couples with similar education.
Philip N. Cohen: Take My Words For It: Homogamy and Heterogamy
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Based on those counts, you'd think homogamy was more common than "opposite-sex marriage," which calls up less than 1 million, "lesbian marriage," which leads to 129,000 hits, or -- the rarest of all -- "straight marriage," which brings up a microscopic 32,000.
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I recently suggested we call same-sex/gender marriage (or similar unions) homogamy and unions between people of different sex/gender ...
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I recently suggested we call same-sex/gender marriage (or similar unions) homogamy and unions between people of different sex/gender heterogamy.
Comments
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