concubine

[kong-kyuh-bahyn, kon-]

noun

1. a woman who cohabits with a man to whom she is not legally married, especially one regarded as socially or sexually subservient; mistress.

2. (among polygamous peoples) a secondary wife, usually of inferior rank.

3. (especially formerly in Muslim societies) a woman residing in a harem and kept, as by a sultan, for sexual purposes.

concubine

/ ˈkɒn-, ˈkɒŋkjʊˌbaɪn, kɒŋˈkjʊbɪnərɪ /

noun

1. (in polygamous societies) a secondary wife, usually of lower social rank

2. a woman who cohabits with a man

Other Word Forms

• concubinary noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of concubine¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of concubine¹

C13: from Old French, from Latin concubīna, from concumbere to lie together, from cubare to lie

Example Sentences

Legend has it that when the emperor's favorite concubine fell ill, a two-week diet of sugar-coated hawthorn berries ultimately healed her.

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But Santa isn’t the Wizard of Oz and he also can’t fulfill Greene’s wish to be Trump’s concubine — another gift she appears to desperately desire.

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His war council, and his concubine pit, consists of a crew of mannequins.

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The defense attorney described Bravo in his opening arguments as a “gigolo” who had essentially turned Rachel into a concubine.

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As the choreographer read about this eccentric ruler — a gifted athlete with extravagant appetites and wives, kids, concubines and Rolls-Royces galore, who died in his 40s — a production took shape in his mind.

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Related Words

• mistress