Polycule
A network of people connected to each other through overlapping romantic relationships.
A polycule is the network formed by people in overlapping relationships: you, your partners, their partners, and so on outward. The word blends [[polyamory|polyamory]] and molecule, because a drawing of one looks like atoms joined by bonds.
Not everyone in a polycule is with everyone else, and usually they are not. The simplest shape is a V: one person with two partners who are not together. A throuple, or triad, is three people all in a relationship with each other. From there a polycule can grow into chains and webs that genuinely need a diagram.
Where the word came from is not clear. It seems to have entered popular use in the early 2010s, and by 2024 it was the subject of features in mainstream outlets, including a New York Times piece built around a twenty-person polycule.
It exists because the alternatives are clumsy. Your partner's partner already has a name, [[metamour|metamour]]; the whole connected set needed one too.
How close a polycule is varies a great deal. In [[kitchen-table-polyamory|kitchen table polyamory]] the whole network may spend holidays together; in [[parallel-polyamory|parallel]] arrangements people may never meet. Both are polycules.
A polycule is not one group relationship
The word suggests a single unit, and people picture everyone in it being together. Usually it is a set of separate relationships that happen to connect.
It also says nothing about how close the members are. A polycule is a description of who is connected to whom, not of how often they see each other.
Saying it well
Say this
- My polycule is five people.
- We are in the same polycule but not dating each other.
- A V, the simplest polycule there is.
- Hang on, let me draw you the polycule.
Not this
- So everyone sleeps with everyone
- So you all live together
- That sounds like a cult
- Which one is the real partner?
Questions people actually ask
What is a polycule?
The network of people connected through overlapping romantic relationships, including partners of partners.
Where does the word polycule come from?
It blends polyamory and molecule. Its exact origin is unclear; it spread in the early 2010s.
Does everyone in a polycule date each other?
No. It is neither necessary nor common for every member to be in a relationship with every other member.
What is a V in polyamory?
A three-person polycule where one person dates two others who are not dating each other.