concubine

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

Origin: 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin concubīna, equivalent to concub- (variant stem of concumbō (“to lie together”)) + feminine suffix -īna.

Noun

concubine (plural concubines)

1. A woman who lives with a man, but who is not a wife.
2. A slave-girl for sexual service prominent in all ancient cultures.
3. Signifies a relationship where the male is the dominant partner, socially and economically
4. A woman attached to a man solely for reproduction, and who cares for the resulting children without any romantic relationship
5. (esp. formerly in Arabic societies, as well as in ancient eastern societies) a woman residing in a harem and kept, as by a sultan or an Emperor, for sexual purposes.
6. A woman kept by a man who is high in hierarchial society in addition to his wives, e.g in the imperial harem or within a household.

Translations

• Bulgarian: наложница
• Greek: παλλακίδα (el) (pallakída) f. (1)

See also

• 妾 (for the chinese ideograph)
• concubines
• harem
• polygamy
• co-wife
• seraglio

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Italian

Noun

concubine f.

1. Plural form of concubina.