hetaerism

American  

[hi-teer-iz-uhm] / hɪˈtɪər ɪz əm /

Also hetairism

noun

1. concubinage.

2. a social system in which the women are considered common property.

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hetaerism British  

/ hɪˈtaɪrɪzəm, hɪˈtɪərɪzəm /

noun

1. the state of being a concubine

2. sociol anthropol a social system attributed to some primitive societies, in which women are communally shared

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Other Word Forms

• hetaerist noun
• hetaeristic adjective

Etymology

Origin of hetaerism

First recorded in 1855–60; hetaer(a) + -ism

Example Sentences

Bachofen, furthermore, is perfectly right in contending that the transition from what he calls "hetaerism" or "incestuous generation" to monogamy was brought about mainly by women.

From The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State by Engels, Friedrich

The transition from "hetaerism" to monogamy and from maternal to paternal law is accomplished according to him—especially by the Greeks—through the evolution of religious ideas.

From The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State by Engels, Friedrich

How little Bachofen understood what he had discovered, or rather guessed, is proved by the term "hetaerism," which he applies to this primeval stage.

From The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State by Engels, Friedrich