Table of Contents
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 January 16, 2025 (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 January 16, 2025. https://sociologydictionary.org/marriage-system/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“marriage system.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 16 Jan. 2025. <https://sociologydictionary.org/marriage-system/>.