concubine
Americannoun
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a woman who cohabits with a man to whom she is not legally married, especially one regarded as socially or sexually subservient; mistress.
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(among polygamous peoples) a secondary wife, usually of inferior rank.
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(especially formerly in Muslim societies) a woman residing in a harem and kept, as by a sultan, for sexual purposes.
noun
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(in polygamous societies) a secondary wife, usually of lower social rank
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a woman who cohabits with a man
Other Word Forms
- concubinary noun
Etymology
Origin of concubine
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin concubīna, equivalent to concub- (variant stem of concumbere “to lie together”; con-, incumbent ) + -īna, feminine suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Abraham arrived there with his servant and concubine Hagar and their son Ishmael.
From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023
The 18th-century monarch liked to nosh on the eggs of water monitor lizards, so the story goes, but the concubine couldn’t get her hands on any, so she substituted dough stuffed with sweet bean paste.
From New York Times • Apr. 2, 2022
Early on in the winsome new documentary about her life and work, Rita Moreno takes gently hilarious aim at Tuptim, the young Burmese concubine she played in the 1956 film of “The King and I.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2021
He must be rejoicing, telling the Emperor Charles that the king’s concubine is living her last hours.
From The Guardian • Feb. 22, 2020
It too was an unnecessary effort because Meme had no desire to intervene in her father's affairs and if she had, it would certainly have been in favor of the concubine.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.