Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BIG'A-MY, n. [L. bis, twice, and Gr. γαμεω, to marry, γαμος, marriage. In Ar. حَمَعَ‎‎ chamaa, is to collect; to come together; to agree, or be in accord; to sleep together; to bind.]

The crime of having two wives at once. But the term is ordinarily used as synonymous with Polygamy, and may be more justly defined, the crime of having a plurality of wives. – Blackstone. In the canon law, bigamy was the marrying of a second wife after the death of the first, or once marrying a widow. This disqualified a man for orders, and holding ecclesiastical offices. – Blackstone.