Definition of Marriage System
(noun) The rules and processes by which an individual enters into marriage with one or more other individuals.
Types of Marriage System
Marriage System Pronunciation
Syllabification: mar·riage sys·tem
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /mAIR-ij sIs-tuhm/
- British English – /mAr-ij sIs-tim/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈmɛrɪʤ ˈsɪstəm/
- British English – /ˈmærɪʤ ˈsɪstɪm/
Usage Notes
- Plural: marriage systems
- Marriage systems as part of kinship theory and descent theory are often studied in sociology and particularly in anthropology.
- Marriage systems often have specific residence requirements depending on society or culture such as avunculocal residence; bilocal residence; matrilocal residence; duolocal residence; neolocal residence; or patrilocal residence.
- Also called marriage rules.
Additional Information
- Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “marriage” and “system” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- common-law marriage
- divorce
- endogamy
- exogamy
- extended family
- heterogamy
- monogamy
- open marriage
- polyamory
- polygamy
- polygyny
Cite the Definition of Marriage System
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “marriage system.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved June 5, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/marriage-system/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
marriage system. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/marriage-system/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “marriage system.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed June 5, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/marriage-system/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“marriage system.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 5 Jun. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/marriage-system/>.