'Levirate' definitions:
Definition of 'levirate'
From: WordNet
noun
The biblical institution whereby a man must marry the widow of his childless brother in order to maintain the brother's line
Definition of 'Levirate'
From: GCIDE
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- The firstborn son of a leviratical marriage was reckoned and registered as the son of the deceased brother. --Alford. [1913 Webster]