concubine
Contents
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
Origin: 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin concubīna, equivalent to concub- (variant stem of concumbō (“to lie together”)) + feminine suffix -īna.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
concubine (plural concubines)
- A sexual partner, especially a woman, to whom one is not or cannot be married.
- 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.
- 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part III, Act III, sc. 2:
- (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.
- 1611, King James Version, Judges 20:4–6:
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
a woman who lives with a man, but who is not a wife
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slave-girl — see slave-girl
mistress — see mistress
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
- Random House Unabridged Dictionary
