0 one of two or more women who are married to the same man in polygamy (= a system that allows this): --
He says his mother's disputes with her co-wife influenced him to choose monogamy.
Co-wives are often sisters (see sororal polygyny).
Women spent thirty hours a week fetching wood, and only when co-wives were sisters, or an aunt or niece, were they expected to work together regularly.
Although co-wives hold equal status, relations between them are expected to be adversarial.
Families were usually polygamous, with the first wife accorded a special status among her co-wives.
In one popular story, envious of being outdone by each other, the co-wives begin to quarrel.
Older hunters may wish to attract women interested in an extramarital relationship, or to be a co-wife.
His wife accuses him of treating the she-buffalo as her co-wife.
Any additional spouse is referred to as a co-husband or co-wife, respectively.
