hypergamy

English

Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *úp
Proto-Indo-European *-er
Proto-Indo-European *upér
Proto-Hellenic *(h)upér
Ancient Greek ῠ̔πέρ (hŭpér)
Ancient Greek ῠ̔περ- (hŭper-)der.
English hyper-
Proto-Indo-European *ǵem-der.
Ancient Greek γᾰ́μος (gắmos)
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂
Proto-Hellenic *-íā
Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā)
Ancient Greek -γαμία (-gamía)bor.
English -gamy
English hypergamy

    From hyper- + -gamy.

    Pronunciation

    • (General American) IPA(key): /haɪˈpɚɡəmi/
    • Audio (US):(file)

    Noun

    hypergamy (usually uncountable, plural hypergamies)

    1. A preference for marrying or dating someone of a higher socioeconomic class.
      Synonym: marrying up (colloquial)
      Antonym: hypogamy
      • 2012 February 11, Stephanie Coontz, “The M.R.S. and the Ph.D.”, in The New York Times‎[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 January 2026:
        From 1940 to the mid-1970s, the tendency for men to marry down educationally became more pronounced and the cultural ideal of hypergamy — that women must marry up — became more insistent.
      • 2025 July 29, Jesse McKinley, “David Geffen’s Divorce Gives New Meaning to Hypergamy”, in The New York Times‎[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 9 February 2026:
        A lawsuit against David Geffen mentions a website where hypergamy — dating above your station — is celebrated. But the word carries darker intonations.

    Translations

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