concubine

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.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑŋkjəbaɪn/

Noun

concubine (plural concubines)

1. A sexual partner, especially a woman, to whom one is not or cannot be married.
2. A woman who lives with a man, but who is not a wife.
   • 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part III, Act III, sc. 2:

     And that is more than I will yield unto:

     I know I am too mean to be your queen,

     And yet too good to be your concubine.

3. (chiefly historical) A slave-girl or woman, kept for instance in a harem, who is held for sexual service.
   • 1611, King James Version, Judges 20:4–6:

     And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead. And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.

   • ca.1909, Mark Twain, Letters from the Earth, Letter VIII:

     Solomon, who was one of the Deity's favorities, had a copulation cabinet composed of seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines.

See also

• harem
• polygamy
• co-wife
• seraglio

References

• Random House Unabridged Dictionary

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

concubine f (plural concubines or concubinen)

1. concubine

   Synonyms: bijvrouw, bijwijf, bijzit, bijzitster

Noun

concubine f (plural concubines, masculine concubin)

1. cohabitant (female)
2. concubine

Noun

concubine f

1. plural of concubina

Noun

concubīne

1. vocative singular of concubīnus