zenana

American  

[zuh-nah-nuh] / zəˈnɑ nə /

Or zanana

noun

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

2. its occupants collectively.

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zenana British  

/ zɛˈnɑːnə /

noun

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

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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”; queen

Example Sentences

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

For the attempts which have been made to modify and improve the Indian zenana system, see e.g. the reports of the Dufferin Association and other official publications.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 8 "Haller, Albrecht" to "Harmonium" by Various

The English women considered it possible to bring health, hope, and legal aid to the women of the zenana, through women doctors, women missionaries, and women lawyers.

From The Modern Woman's Rights Movement A Historical Survey by Schirmacher, Kaethe

Born within the precincts of an ill-ventilated zenana, and cooped up in the cage of an uncongenial cell, she is destined to breathe her last in that unwholesome retreat.

From The Hindoos as they Are A Description of the Manners, Customs and the Inner Life of Hindoo Society in Bengal by Bose, Shib Chunder

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)