en·dog·a·my / enˈdägəmē/ • n. Anthropol. the custom of marrying only within the limits of a local community, clan, or tribe. Compare with exogamy. ∎  Biol. the fusion of reproductive cells from related individuals; inbreeding; self-pollination.DERIVATIVES: en·do·gam·ic / ˌendōˈgamik/ adj.en·dog·a·mous / -gəməs/ adj.

endogamy The preferred or prescribed practice of marrying within the defined kin-group, be it clan, lineage, village, or social class. The opposite principle is exogamy: the preferred or prescribed practice of marriage outside the kin group, the boundaries of which are often defined by the incest taboo. The latter principle is most clearly expressed in the Arapesh saying, recorded by Margaret Mead, which states: ‘Your own mother, your own sister, your own pigs, your own yams you have piled up, you may not eat. |Other people's mothers, other people's sisters other people's pigs, other people's yams that they have piled up, you may eat.’

endogamy The fusion of reproductive cells from closely related parents, i.e. inbreeding. Compare exogamy.