Table of Contents
Definition of Symmetrical Exchange
(noun) A system in which the males of one group marry the females of another group.
Symmetrical Exchange Pronunciation
Syllabification: sym·met·ri·cal ex·change
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /suh-mEt-ri-kuhl iks-chAYnj/
- British English – /si-mE-trik iks-chAYnj/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /səˈmɛtrɪkəl ɪksˈʧeɪnʤ/
- British English – /sɪˈmɛtrɪkəl ɪksˈʧeɪnʤ/
Usage Notes
- Plural: symmetrical exchanges
- Symmetrical exchange is contrasted to asymmetrical exchange.
- A type of marriage system.
Additional Information
- Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “symmetrical” and “exchange” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Taylor & Francis. (N.d.) Routledge Handbooks Online. (https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/).
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).
Wiley. (N.d.) Wiley Online Library. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/).
Cite the Definition of Symmetrical Exchange
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “symmetrical exchange.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved September 17, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/symmetrical-exchange/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
symmetrical exchange. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/symmetrical-exchange/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “symmetrical exchange.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed September 17, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/symmetrical-exchange/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“symmetrical exchange.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 17 Sep. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/symmetrical-exchange/>.