hyperandry

English

Etymology

From hyper- +‎ -andry.

Noun

hyperandry (usually uncountable, plural hyperandries)

  1. Act or practice of a man seeking a spouse of higher socioeconomic status or caste status than himself.
    • 1998, John Marshall Townsend, chapter 6, in What Women Want–What Men Want: Why the Sexes Still See Love and Commitment So Differently, Oxford University Press, page 133:
      Hypergamy refers to the tendency of either sex to mate with individuals of superior status. When women date or marry up, it is called hypergyny. When men do so, it is called hyperandry.
    • 2001, Rachel A. Bonney, J. Anthony Paredes, chapter 5, in Anthropologist and Indians in the new South, University of Alabama Press, page 186:
      The more common variant of hypergamous unions is hypergyny, in which a woman realizes social, economic, and political gains by marrying a man whose status is higher than that ascribed to her family or group of origin. In the opposite pattern, known as hyperandry, a man of low status takes a bride who enjoys a higher social position.
    • 2004, Valerie M. Hudson, Andrea M. den Boer, chapter 2, in Bare Branches: Security Implications of Asia's Surplus Male Population, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, page 39:
      In addition, unlike in other parts of Europe where hypergyny prevailed, Coleman found evidence of hyperandry among the agricultural populations of Saint Germain-des-Pres: That is, women's marriage choices did not depend on their social status relative to that of men, as demonstrated by the significant number of marriages in which the women married men of lower social status.
  • hypergamy (marrying up in general)
  • hypogamy (marrying down in general)
  • hypergyny (women marrying up)
  • hypoandry (men marrying down)

See also

  • polyandry (many men marrying a single spouse)
  • polygyny (many women marrying a single spouse)