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levirate |
1 definition found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Levirate \Lev"i*rate\ (l[e^]v"[i^]*r[asl]t), Leviratical \Lev`i*rat"ic*al\ (-r[a^]t"[i^]*kal), a. [L. levir a husband's brother, brother-in-law; akin to Gr dah`r: cf F. l['e]virat leviration.] Of pertaining to or in accordance with a law of the ancient Israelites and other tribes and races, according to which a woman, whose husband died without issue, was married to the husband's brother. The firstborn son of a leviratical marriage was reckoned and registered as the son of the deceased brother. --Alford.