odalisque

American  

[ohd-l-isk] / ˈoʊd l ɪsk /

Or odalisk

noun

1. a female slave or concubine in a harem, especially in that of the sultan of Turkey.

2. (initial capital letter) any of a number of representations of such a woman or of a similar subject, as by Ingres or Matisse.

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odalisque British  

/ ˈəʊdəlɪsk /

noun

1. a female slave or concubine

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Etymology

Origin of odalisque

First recorded in 1675–85; from French, alteration of earlier odalique (with -s- perhaps from -esque -esque ) from Turkish odalιk “female slave, concubine,” equivalent to oda “room, chamber” + -lιk a noun suffix indicating relationship or origin

Example Sentences

Odalisque on the Terrace, painted in 1922, depicts two figures - one reclining in the sun while another holds a violin.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

This culminates in his big speech, which he turns into a preliminary manifesto of what he calls "the Odalisque Revolution".

From The Guardian • Feb. 15, 2013

In Paris, you can compare Freud's Benefits Supervisor Sleeping with Manet's Olympia, hanging in the Musée d'Orsay, or with Ingres's Odalisque in the Louvre.

From The Guardian • Mar. 16, 2010

For instance, the Met examiners found on Ingres' Odalisque en Grisaille a monogram enclosed in a circle, which Ingres' student Armand Cambon used to sign his works.

From Time Magazine Archive

He represented her as a Jewish bride, as Flora, as an Odalisque, a Judith, a Susanna, and a Bathsheba.

From Rembrandt A Collection Of Fifteen Pictures and a Portrait of the Painter with Introduction and Interpretation by Hurll, Estelle M. (Estelle May)