polycule

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Blend of polyamory +‎ molecule.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈpɒlɪkjuːl/, /ˈpɔlikjul/
  • Audio (US)(file)

Noun[edit]

polycule (plural polycules)

  1. All of the people linked through their relationships, usually romantic and/or sexual, to one or more members of a polyamorous group.
    Our polycule doubled in size when my spouse started seeing Boris, whose husband has six other partners.
    • 2015, Julie Fennell, “Polyculous bonds”, in Elisabeth Sheff, editor, Stories from the polycule: Real life in polyamorous families, Portland, OR: Thorntree Press, →ISBN:
      The five of us started calling ourselves a "polycule" back in the fall of 2012, when our relationships and sexual lives were so thoroughly entangled with one another that we looked like several relationship atoms often sharing orbits together.
    • 2018 November 16, Josephine Yurcaba, “Ezra Miller Discussed Polyamory and Past Abuse”, in Teen Vogue‎[1], archived from the original on May 28, 2019:
      While nonmonogamy doesn't always mean having multiple partners, Ezra's polycule comprises multiple sexual partners.
    • 2018, T. J. Thomson, “The Evolution of Story: How Time and Modality Affect Visual and Verbal Narratives”, in Visual Communication Quarterly, volume 25, number 4, →DOI, page 204:
      Unbeknownst to him, Janice had, some three weeks prior, broken up with one of her partners from a polycule in Colorado.
    • [2023 September 30, Victoria Bekiempis, “‘Dark’ donations, free love and the fall: the Sam Bankman-Fried trial is here”, in The Guardian‎[2], →ISSN:
      The duo and eight others comprising the financial whiz’s inner circle shared a tony penthouse in the Bahamas, a living arrangement that some, including tech mogul Elon Musk, reportedly described as a “polycule”– that is, “a connected network of people and relationships, all of whom are in some way involved emotionally, sexually, or romantically with at least one other person”.]
    • 2024 January 16, Allison P. Davis, “What Does a Polycule Actually Look Like?”, in New York Magazine‎[3]:
      Sarah is more reserved, especially when it comes to sharing details about “tender” situations, and she’s also protective of the other members of her polycule. What one part of the polycule says about another could have huge, messy ripple effects throughout the whole group.

Synonyms[edit]

Translations[edit]

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