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

Ingres and Matisse transformed the reclining body into an odalisque, dressing their women in sheer harem pants and silk turbans, decorating them with bejeweled peacock-feather fans.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2023

In the brilliant, complex “The Glider” and the Surrealistic odalisque of “Outstretched,” the soil has been mixed with charcoal, creating a soft, matte black.

From New York Times • Mar. 2, 2023

In a Joan Brown painting, a cat might sit pensively in the middle of a Kool-Aid-colored landscape and a woman with the body of a tiger might take the pose of an Ingres odalisque.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 30, 2022

She photographs herself as the schoolgirl, aristocrat, frustrated housewife, film-noir heroine, biker chick, odalisque, demented clown and soap opera diva.

From BusinessWeek • Feb. 27, 2012

And the cornet cakewalks like a hoyden vampire, the cornet whinnies like an odalisque expiring in the arms of the Wizard of Oz.

From A Thousand and One Afternoons in Chicago by Hecht, Ben