hetaera
See also: hetæra
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Ancient Greek ἑταῖρα (hetaîra), feminine of ἑταῖρος (hetaîros, “companion”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
hetaera (plural hetaerae or hetaeras)
- (historical, Ancient Greece) A highly cultivated hired female companion who would entertain upper-class male clients and might perform sex acts for them.
- Coordinate term: courtesan
- 1957, Lawrence Durrell, Justine:
- But of course our friend is only a shallow twentieth-century reproduction of the great hetairae of the past, the type to which she belongs without knowing it, Lais, Charis and the rest...
- A mistress.
- 1971, Gottfried Benn, E. B. Ashton, Primal vision: selected writings:
- Woman is dethroned as the primary and supreme sex, debased into inseminable hetaera.
- 1980, Anthony Burgess, Earthly Powers:
- Christ appeared, only to reveal himself as the naked god Pan. Ballet of hetaerae and houris, choreography by Italo Castaldi.
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
hired female companion
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