Definition of "endogamy" [en•dog•a•my]

• Anthropology Marriage within a particular group in accordance with custom or law. (noun)
• Botany Fertilization resulting from pollination among flowers of the same plant. (noun)
• Biology Reproduction by the fusion of gametes of similar ancestry. (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.

• "There is no evidence of the practice of endogamy which is so widespread among the Oceanic peoples."
• "In sociological terms, marrying within one’s ethnic or religious group is called endogamy, while marrying outside is exogamy."
• "Natural selection has determined that exogamy produces fitter progeny than endogamy."