hypergamy

hy·per·ga·my| hīˈpərɡəmē | nounthe action of marrying or forming a sexual relationship with a person of a superior sociological or educational background.

The word hypergamy comes from the Greek prefix hyper- meaning “above” and gamos meaning “marriage”. It was first used in the 1880s by English anthropologists to describe the practice of marrying into a higher caste in the Indian subcontinent. The term was coined while translating classical Hindu law books from Sanskrit to English.

The opposite of hypergamy is hypogamy, which means marrying into a lower social class or status. The Sanskrit term for hypogamy is pratiloma.
The term hypergamy has since broadened to include any situation where someone marries into a more privileged or powerful social class, based on factors such as wealth, education, or physical attractiveness.