singing girl

English

Noun

singing girl (plural singing girls)

1. A young woman of low social status (often enslaved) who performs as a musician and entertainer, especially in Asian societies.
   • 1856, Walter M. Gibson, The Prison of Weltevreden: And a Glance at the East Indian Archipelago‎^[1], Sampson Low Son & Company, page 213:

     She was a stranger in Palembang: she had fled from some one in in the interior, and had lately entered the house of Tumunggung Nora Wangsa; who was patron, also, of another singing girl present, called Sahdeeah.

   • 1870, “Tales of Old Japan, No. II—The Loves of Gompachi and Komurasaki”, in The Fortnightly Review‎^[2], volume 14:

     The Guide to the Yoshiwara gives a list of fifty-five singing-girls, besides a host of minor stars. These women are not to be confounded with the courtesans.

   • 1943, Clyde B. Camerer, Peter E. Huth, “The Social Evil in Japan”, in United States Naval Medical Bulletin‎^[3], volume 41:

     A girl is not considered disgraced if, for her parent's sake, she sells herself into the life of a "singing girl", geisha, or plain prostitute.

   • 2000 July 13, G. R. Hawting, The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate, AD 661-750, 2nd edition, Routledge, →ISBN, page 47:

     One was a revolt of the people of Medina, who had publicly withdrawn their allegiance to Yazid, in spite of his attempts to conciliate their leaders, in reaction, we are told, to the caliph's personal unsuitability for his office—charges such as enjoyment of singing girls and playing with a pet monkey are brought against him in the tradition.

Related terms

• sing-song girl