Wiktionary

concubine

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English concubine (first attested 1250–1300), from Anglo-Norman concubine, from Latin concubīna, equivalent to concub- (variant stem of concumbō (“to lie together”)) + feminine suffix -īna.

Pronunciation

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  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈkɑŋkjəbaɪn/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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concubine (plural concubines)

  1. A sexual partner, especially a woman, to whom one is not or cannot be married.
    Synonyms: mistress, sprunk; see also Thesaurus:sexual partner, Thesaurus:mistress
  2. A woman who lives with a man, but who is not a wife.
    Synonyms: cohabitor, cohabitant, domestic partner
  3. (chiefly historical) A slave-girl or woman, kept for instance in a harem, who is held for sexual service.
    Synonym: odalisque
    • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii:
      He ſhall be made a chaſte and luſtleſſe Eunuch,
      And in my Sarell tend my Concubines:
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 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.
    • c. 1909, Mark Twain, “Letter VIII”, in Letters from the Earth:
      Solomon, who was one of the Deity's favorities, had a copulation cabinet composed of seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines.

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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  • Random House Unabridged Dictionary
  • “concubine”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Dutch

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Etymology

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From Middle Dutch concubine, from Middle French concubine, from Old French [Term?], from Latin concubīna.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˌkɔŋ.kyˈbi.nə/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: con‧cu‧bi‧ne
  • Rhymes: -inə

Noun

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concubine f (plural concubines or concubinen, masculine concubaan or concubant)

  1. concubine
    Synonyms: bijvrouw, bijwijf, bijzit, bijzitster
  2. (Suriname) female partner in a common-law marriage

Derived terms

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French

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin concubīna.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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concubine f (plural concubines, masculine concubin)

  1. cohabitant, female domestic partner
  2. concubine

Further reading

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Italian

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /kon.kuˈbi.ne/
  • Rhymes: -ine
  • Hyphenation: con‧cu‧bì‧ne

Noun

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concubine f

  1. plural of concubina

Latin

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Noun

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concubīne

  1. vocative singular of concubīnus

Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Anglo-Norman concubine, from Latin concubīna.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /kɔnkiu̯ˈbiːn(ə)/

Noun

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concubine (plural concubines)

  1. A concubine; a secondary female partner.
  2. (rare) A illegitimate or unacknowledged partner (male or female)

Descendants

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  • English: concubine

References

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