Monopoly Relationship: When Monogamy and Polyamory Coexist
A monopoly relationship, more clearly called a mono/poly relationship, involves one monogamous partner and one polyamorous partner within a consensual arrangement.
Polycule: The Network of Partners and Metamours in Polyamory
A polycule is a network of people connected through polyamorous relationships, including direct partners, metamours, and other indirectly connected partners.
Parallel Polyamory: Separate Relationships and Limited Metamour Contact
Parallel polyamory is a relationship style in which multiple consensual relationships remain largely separate, with limited or no direct interaction between metamours.
Kitchen-Table Polyamory: Partners and Metamours Sharing Community
Kitchen-table polyamory is a relationship style in which partners and metamours are comfortable communicating, socializing, and sharing parts of community or family life.
Comet Relationship: An Intermittent but Meaningful Intimate Connection
A comet relationship is an intermittent romantic, sexual, or emotional connection in which partners reconnect meaningfully after long periods apart.
Secondary Partner: Meaning, Priority, and Hierarchy in Polyamory
A secondary partner has less structural priority than a primary partner but may still share a loving, sexual, emotionally significant, and long-term relationship.
Primary Partner: Priority, Commitment, and Hierarchy in Polyamory
A primary partner is the partner who receives the greatest structural, practical, or emotional priority within a relationship network.
Nesting Partner: Shared Housing, Domestic Life, and Polyamory
A nesting partner is a romantic, sexual, or committed partner with whom a person shares a home, household responsibilities, or daily domestic life.
Anchor Partner: Emotional Stability and Commitment in Polyamory
An anchor partner is a dependable partner who provides emotional stability, continuity, or practical support without necessarily holding formal primary status.
Relationship Escalator: The Expected Path From Dating to Marriage
The relationship escalator is the social expectation that romantic relationships should progress through exclusivity, cohabitation, marriage, parenthood, and lifelong commitment.