Definition of "heterogamy" [het•er•og•a•my]

• Alternation of sexual and parthenogenic generations, as in some aphids. (noun)
• The state or condition in which conjugating gametes are dissimilar in structure and size as well as in function. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "And my recent concentration on language regarding union or marriage types (homogamy and heterogamy), on the one hand, and sexual dimorphism/gender on the other, made me sensitive to my first lesson."
• "I don't think we need to introduce spouses, or label our marriage licenses, with the terms homogamy and heterogamy."
• "I recently suggested we call same-sex/gender marriage (or similar unions) homogamy and unions between people of different sex/gender heterogamy."