zenana

or za·na·na

[ zuh-nah-nuh ]

/ zəˈnɑ nə /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR zenana ON THESAURUS.COM

noun (in India)

the part of the house in which the women and girls of a family are secluded.

its occupants collectively.

RELATED WORDS

purdah, seraglio, serai

Nearby words

zemlinsky, zemstvo, zemzem, zen, zen buddhism, zenana, zend, zend-avesta, zendo, zener diode, zeng guofan

Origin of zenana

1755–65; < Hindi < Persian zanāna, female, pertaining to women, adj. derivative of zan woman; cognate with Sanskrit jani woman, wife, Greek gynḗ, OCS žena, Old English cwēn woman, wife; see queen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for zenana

There seemed no hope, and they said, some day, I should be sent to the nabob's zenana--wretches!
With Clive in India|G. A. Henty
I know the way into the zenana by the broken wall,' he said, 'and I will go and stab the Nawab in his sleep; who will know of it?
A Noble Queen (Volume I of 3)|Philip Meadows Taylor
Well may every friend of India pray earnestly that Zenana Missions may be crowned with success.
Life and Work in Benares and Kumaon, 1839-1877|James Kennedy
They waited patiently, until they saw the lights in the zenana windows extinguished.
With Clive in India|G. A. Henty

Of course the word at once recalls the harem, the zenana, but nothing of that kind would do.
Modern marriage and how to bear it|Maud Churton Braby

British Dictionary definitions for zenana

zenana

/ (zɛˈnɑːnə) /

noun

(in the East, esp in Muslim and Hindu homes) part of a house reserved for the women and girls of a household

Word Origin for zenana

C18: from Hindi zanāna, from Persian, from zan woman

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012