It's interesting, some of the definitions of adultery...
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Adultery \A*dul"ter*y\, n.; pl. {Adulteries}. [L. adulterium.
See {Advoutry}.]
1. The unfaithfulness of a married person to the marriage
bed; sexual intercourse by a married man with another than
his wife, or voluntary sexual intercourse by a married
woman with another than her husband.
Here, any consensual sex between a married person and someone else who is not their spouse is adultery. Seems simple.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 [wn]:
adultery
n : extramarital sex that willfully and maliciously interferes
with marriage relations; "adultery is often cited as
grounds for divorce" [syn: {criminal conversation}, {fornication}]
Now we have "willfully and maliciously interferes with marriage relations". That would seem to allow consensual poly relationships!
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:
Adultery
conjugal infidelity. An adulterer was a man who had illicit
intercourse with a married or a betrothed woman, and such a
woman was an adulteress.
"Illicit"... would consensual poly relationships be illicit in the eyes of the participants?
Of course, "adultery" is an emotionally laden term. Even if we used Webster's definition, this is not to say that adultery is bad. Heh, as someone who regularly has sex with a married woman, it's good :-)
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2004-04-30 08:19 pm (UTC)From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Adultery \A*dul"ter*y\, n.; pl. {Adulteries}. [L. adulterium. See {Advoutry}.] 1. The unfaithfulness of a married person to the marriage bed; sexual intercourse by a married man with another than his wife, or voluntary sexual intercourse by a married woman with another than her husband.Here, any consensual sex between a married person and someone else who is not their spouse is adultery. Seems simple.From WordNet (r) 1.7 [wn]: adultery n : extramarital sex that willfully and maliciously interferes with marriage relations; "adultery is often cited as grounds for divorce" [syn: {criminal conversation}, {fornication}]Now we have "willfully and maliciously interferes with marriage relations". That would seem to allow consensual poly relationships!From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]: Adultery conjugal infidelity. An adulterer was a man who had illicit intercourse with a married or a betrothed woman, and such a woman was an adulteress."Illicit"... would consensual poly relationships be illicit in the eyes of the participants?Of course, "adultery" is an emotionally laden term. Even if we used Webster's definition, this is not to say that adultery is bad. Heh, as someone who regularly has sex with a married woman, it's good :-)