Basic Details
Word: Monogamy
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: The custom of being married to only one person at a time. Scientists also use it for animals that keep a single mate.
Antonyms: polygamy
Word origin: Comes from Greek monos, 'single', and gamos, 'marriage'.
How to Spell Monogamy
Syllables: mo - nog - a - my
Tricky part: The vowel after the g is a, although it is said as a weak 'uh', so students often write monogomy. There is only one n and one g.
Watch out for: monogomy, monagamy, monnogamy
Memory tip: Mono means one, as in monorail, and gamy means marriage, as in bigamy. One marriage: mono + gamy.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Our biology teacher said that monogamy is fairly rare among mammals but common among birds.
Example 2: The documentary showed gibbons, small apes that often live in pairs, as an example of monogamy.
Example 3: In many countries the law allows only monogamy, so a person may have just one husband or wife.
Fun Fact
Many bird species raise their chicks as a pair, and mute swans often stay with the same partner for several breeding seasons.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. monogamy 2. monosylable 3. monocrome 4. monolouge
a) a long speech made by one person
b) the custom of being married to one person at a time
c) using only one colour
d) a word that has only one syllable
Show answer
b) the custom of being married to one person at a time. Monogamy is the only word without a slip; the others should be monosyllable, monologue and monochrome.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
mon_g_my
a) a, a
b) o, a
c) o, o
d) a, o
Show answer
b) o, a. Say mo-NOG-a-my: the stressed o comes first, and the weak sound after the g is written a.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
Swans are known for their gomaymno, often keeping one mate for many years.
a) monopoly
b) monotony
c) monogamy
d) mahogany
Show answer
c) monogamy. Only monogamy uses two m's and a g; mahogany has an h, and monotony and monopoly need a t or a p.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. An animal described as monogamous ____.
a) lives alone
b) keeps one mate
c) has one baby a year
d) eats one kind of food
Show answer
b) keeps one mate
2. The prefix mono in monogamy has the same meaning as in ____.
a) money
b) monsoon
c) monkey
d) monorail
Show answer
d) monorail
