Levirate /(lĕv"ĭ*rā̇t)/

Lev·i·rate

Levirate

a.
  1. 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.