In
biology, a
pair bond is the strong affinity that develops in some
species between a pair consisting of a
male and
female, or in some cases as a
same-sex pairing, potentially leading to producing offspring and/or a lifelong bond. Pair-bonding is a term coined in the 1940s that is frequently used in
sociobiology and
evolutionary biology circles. The term often implies either a lifelong
socially monogamous relationship or a stage of mating interaction in socially monogamous species. It is sometimes used in reference to human relationships.