Levirate
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /ˈlɛvɪɹət/ · Part of speech adjective
Quick meaning: Levirate is an adjective meaning Having to do with one's husband's brother.
Meaning
Having to do with one's husband's brother.
More Meanings
- (countable) A marriage between a widow and her deceased husband's brother or, sometimes, heir.
- (anthropology) The institution of levirate marriage.
Example Sentences
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.
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.
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.
Word Forms
- levirates
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include concubinarian, avunculate, concubinal, sororal, patrilocal, stepbrotherly.
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Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.