zenana
Americannoun
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the part of the house in which the women and girls of a family are secluded.
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its occupants collectively.
noun
Etymology
Origin of zenana
First recorded in 1755–65; from Hindi, from Persian zanāna, “female, pertaining to women,” adjective derivative of zan “woman”; cognate with Sanskrit jani “woman, wife,” Greek gynḗ, Old Church Slavonic žena, Old English cwēn “woman, wife”; see queen
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.
The buzzing sound of UAVs has been ubiquitous in Gaza since 2006, and drones are called zenana, an Arabic word referring to the sound using the slang term for a nagging wife.
From Salon • Nov. 11, 2024
She was a woman of immense activity and energy; and if she were absent one day from the palace, the affairs of the zenana would be in perfect disorder.
From Folk-Tales of Bengal by Day, Lal Behari
A male doctor attending a zenana lady would put his hand between the purdah to feel her pulse.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 8 "Haller, Albrecht" to "Harmonium" by Various
It is reached through an opening under a block of zenana buildings.
From From Sea to Sea Letters of Travel by Kipling, Rudyard
Thus it came about that I undertook a journey with Jahan Khan down to India, and in one of the zenana missions there we found a girl who was to become his helpmeet through life.
From Among the Wild Tribes of the Afghan Frontier A Record of Sixteen Years' Close Intercourse with the Natives of the Indian Marches by Pennell, T. L. (Theodore Leighton)
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.
