marry out

Definitions

1. 1

   To marry someone who is from another family

   To marry someone who is from another family; To avoid incest.

   • E. B. Tylor's idea that humans have only one choice, namely either to marry out or to die out, has become the most commonplace functional explanation. The necessity to marry out is always a corollary to the prohibition to marry sisters.
   • Most of us take it for granted that we must marry out—that is, we cannot marry members of our immediate families.
   • Over time, groups that marry out had an advantage over those that did not, so eventually all groups developed incest taboos.
2. 2

   To marry someone from a different religion or ethnic group.

   • The opposite supposition is that younger people are more receptive to social change and unconventional ways, thus more likely to marry out at a higher rate.
   • Jews who marry out — especially women who marry out, marry substantially later than Jews who marry in.

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