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harem

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: hárem, harém, and Harem

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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    Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem) (whence Turkish harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram, “something prohibited; sanctuary, women”); and later also from حَرِيم (ḥarīm) with same meaning, both from حَرُمَ (ḥaruma, “be forbidden or unlawful”). Doublet of haram and herem.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    harem (countable and uncountable, plural harems)

    1. The private section of a Muslim household forbidden to male strangers. [from 1841]
      • 1841, James Justinian Morier, The Mirza, volume 3, page 153:
        "In the room next to her own, lived the harem of a merchant who had just arrived from Constantinople with merchandise. It consisted of his wife, children, and two female slaves, who being well off in their circumstances, enjoyed the comforts and conveniences of life, and eat and drank unsparingly every day."
    2. A group of someone's girlfriends, wives and/or concubines in a polygamous household.
    3. A group of female animals (cows) herded and controlled by a male animal (bull) of that species for breeding purposes. Such behaviour is exhibited by bovids including cattle and buffalo as well as moose, elephants, seals (including elephant seals), sea lions, and baboons. [from 1911]
      • 1904, Jack London, chapter 30, in The Sea-Wolf (Macmillan’s Standard Library), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC:
        I nodded my head and proceeded to make a flank attack on the nearest harem. All went well until I aimed a blow at an outlying cow's head and fell short. She snorted and tried to scramble away. I ran in close and struck another blow, hitting the shoulder instead of the head.
      • 2006 Maestripieri, Dario; Mayhew, Jessica; Carlson, Cindy L.; Hoffman, Christy L.; and Radtke, Jennifer M. "One-Male Harems and Female Social Dynamics in Guinea Baboons", published in Folia Primatol 2007; 78:56–68, doi 10.1159/000095686
    4. (ornithology) A group of female birds mated to or associated with a breeding male.
      • 1886, Peter Christen Asbj&oslash￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 90:
        In the meantime we were hidden in a close juniper thicket on the little knoll, and expected the capercailzie cock every moment; but our old friend tarried a long time in his harem.
    5. (slang) Any significant number of women together as a group; a bevy.
    6. (uncountable) A genre of anime and manga in which a man is the love interest of three or more women.

    Hyponyms

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    • (private area for wives, women thus kept): zenana (Indian contexts)

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

    See also

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    Anagrams

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    Catalan

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    Etymology

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    Borrowed from French harem, from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram, “something prohibited; sanctuary, women”). Doublet of haram.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    harem m (plural harems)

    1. harem

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    Further reading

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    Dutch

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    Etymology

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    Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم, from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram).

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /ˈɦaː.rəm/
    • Audio:(file)
    • Hyphenation: ha‧rem

    Noun

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    harem m (plural harems, diminutive harempje n)

    1. harem (private part of an Arab house, esp. the women's quarters)
      Synonym: haremverblijf
    2. harem (group of female partners in a polygamous household)
    3. harem (group of female animals belonging to one male)

    Hypernyms

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    Derived terms

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    French

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    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    harem m (plural harems)

    1. harem

    Further reading

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    Indonesian

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    Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia id

    Etymology

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    From Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem) (Modern Turkish harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram, “something prohibited; sanctuary, women”); and later also from حَرِيم (ḥarīm) with same meaning, both from حَرُمَ (ḥaruma, “be forbidden or unlawful”). Doublet of haram.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    harêm (plural harem-harem)

    1. harem:
      1. the private section of an Arab household, traditionally forbidden to male strangers
      2. a group of someone's girlfriends, wives and/or concubines in a polygamous household
      3. (biology) a group of female animals (cows) herded and controlled by a male animal (bull) of that species for breeding purposes; such behaviour is exhibited by bovids including cattle and buffalo as well as moose, elephants, seals, sea lions, baboons, and elephant seals
      4. (biology) a group of female birds mated to or associated with a breeding male
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    Further reading

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    Italian

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    Etymology

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    Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram).

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /ˈa.rem/, (traditional, elevated style) /aˈrɛm/[1]
    • Rhymes: -arem, (traditional, elevated style) -ɛm
    • Hyphenation: hà‧rem, (traditional, elevated style) ha‧rèm

    Noun

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    harem m (invariable)

    1. harem

    References

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    1. ^ “harem” in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

    Polish

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    Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia pl

    Etymology

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      Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem), borrowed from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram). Doublet of haram.

      Pronunciation

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      Noun

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      harem m inan

      1. harem (the private part of an Arab household)
      2. (Islam) harem (group of women in a polygamous household)
      3. (humorous) harem (group of women gathered around one man they are interested in)
      4. harem (group of female animals (cows) herded and controlled by a male)

      Declension

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      Derived terms

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      adjective
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      adverb

      Further reading

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      • “harem”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎[1] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
      • “harem”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎[2] (in Polish)

      Romanian

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      Alternative forms

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      Etymology

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        Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem), borrowed from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram).

        Noun

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        harem n (plural haremuri)

        1. harem

        Declension

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        singular plural
        indefinite definite indefinite definite
        nominative-accusative harem haremul haremuri haremurile
        genitive-dative harem haremului haremuri haremurilor
        vocative haremule haremurilor

        Serbo-Croatian

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        Etymology

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        Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram).

        Noun

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        hárem m inan (Cyrillic spelling ха́рем)

        1. harem

        Declension

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        Declension of harem
        singular plural
        nominative harem haremi
        genitive harema harema
        dative haremu haremima
        accusative harem hareme
        vocative hareme haremi
        locative haremu haremima
        instrumental haremom haremima

        Swedish

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        Noun

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        harem n

        1. a harem

        Declension

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        See also

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        References

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        • “harem”, in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker [Dictionaries of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

        Turkish

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        Etymology

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          Inherited from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem), borrowed from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram).

          Pronunciation

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          • IPA(key): /haˈɾem/
          • Hyphenation: ha‧rem

          Noun

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          harem (definite accusative haremi, plural haremler)

          1. harem (the private section of a Muslim household forbidden for male adult strangers)
          2. The women and children that reside in this section
          3. (archaic) wife

          Declension

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          Declension of harem
          singular plural
          nominative harem haremler
          definite accusative haremi haremleri
          dative hareme haremlere
          locative haremde haremlerde
          ablative haremden haremlerden
          genitive haremin haremlerin

          Further reading

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          • “harem”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu