Meaning
What does Polycule mean?
A Polycule is a word coined by the Polyamorous society to describe their full network of relationships.
Polyamorous or polygamous people deviate from traditional monogamous relationships by allowing multiple partners, and even secondary partners’ partners.
The relationship(s) may be emotional, sexual, romantic or other that connects two or more people.
If you are in a relationship with two people, and both of them are in a relationship with one other person each, but maybe not each other, rather than trying to explain this every time someone asks, you would simply just refer to your Polycule.
Just like traditional monogamous people will refer to their relationship as a “couple”, polygamous people will refer to the full network of their relationship as their Polycule.
Origin
What's the origin of Polycule?
The term is a portmanteau made up of “polyamory” – the relationship status or preference involving more than the traditional two people, and “molecule”, referring to the sometimes complex networks in the relationship.
It is a rather new term, only appearing in the last decade (2010-)
Spread & Usage
How did Polycule spread?
The slang is widely used among polyamorous people, together with a list of other terms coined by the society to make the description of their relationships simpler.
The YouTube channel PolyculeTV addresses common misconceptions and spreads information about polyamory.
External resources
- Dictionary.com – Polycule
- Vice – We Went to a Polyamory Event and Learned What a ‘Polycule’ Is