levirate

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English

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Etymology

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From Latin lēvir (husband's brother, brother-in-law) +‎ -ate (adjective-forming suffix), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dayh₂wḗr (one's brother-in-law).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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levirate (not comparable)

  1. Having to do with one's husband's brother.

Usage notes

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Translations

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Noun

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levirate (plural levirates)

  1. (countable) A marriage between a widow and her deceased husband's brother or, sometimes, heir.
  2. (anthropology) The institution of levirate marriage.
    • 1894, Edward Westermarck, The History of Human Marriage, 2nd edition, Macmillan and Co., page 510:
      And it is, he says, impossible not to believe that the Levirate—that is, the practice of marrying a dead brother's widow—is derived from polyandry.
    • 1986, Claus Westermann, translated by John S. Scullion, Genesis 37-50: A Continental Commentary, Fortress Press, →ISBN, page 52:
      It is only a secondary purpose of the levirate that the property of the deceased passes on to the one who is heir to his name, and is probably a later accretion.
    • 2006, Gary P. Ferraro, Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective, Thomson Wadsworth, →ISBN, page 219:
      The levirate is found in patrilineal societies in which the bride marries into her husband's family while essentially severing her ties with her original family.

Translations

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Anagrams

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