harem
See also: hárem, harém, and Harem
English
Alternative forms
- hareem (dated)
- harim (dated)
Etymology
Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem) Turkish harem, from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram, “something prohibited; sanctuary, women”); and later also from حَرِيم (ḥarīm) with same meaning, both from حَرُمَ (ḥaruma, “be forbidden or unlawful”). Doublet of haram.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈhɑːɹiːm/, /(ˌ)hɑːˈɹiːm/, /ˈhɛəɹəm/
- (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈhæɹəm/, /ˈhɛəɹəm/
- IPA: /ˈhæɹəm/
- IPA: /ˈhɛəɹəm/
- Rhymes: -ɛəɹəm, (General American, Canada) -æɹəm, (Received Pronunciation) -iːm
Noun
harem (plural harems)
- The private section of an Arab household, traditionally forbidden to male strangers. [1841]
- 1841 The Mirza, Volume 3, James Justinian Morier, p. 153
- "In the room next to her own, lived the harem of a merchant who had just arrived from Constantinople with merchandise. It consisted of his wife, children, and two female slaves, who being well off in their circumstances, enjoyed the comforts and conveniences of life, and eat and drank unsparingly every day."
- 1841 The Mirza, Volume 3, James Justinian Morier, p. 153
- A group of someone's girlfriends, wives and/or concubines in a polygamous household.
- A group of female animals (cows) herded and controlled by a male animal (bull) of that species for breeding purposes. Such behaviour is exhibited by bovids including cattle and buffalo as well as moose, elephants, seals, sea lions, baboons, and elephant seals.[2006]
- 2006 Maestripieri, Dario; Mayhew, Jessica; Carlson, Cindy L.; Hoffman, Christy L.; and Radtke, Jennifer M. "One-Male Harems and Female Social Dynamics in Guinea Baboons", published in Folia Primatol 2007; 78:56–68, doi 10.1159/000095686
- (ornithology) A group of female birds mated to or associated with a breeding male.
- 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, H.L. Brækstad, transl., Folk and Fairy Tales, page 90:
- In the meantime we were hidden in a close juniper thicket on the little knoll, and expected the capercailzie cock every moment; but our old friend tarried a long time in his harem.
-
- (slang) Any significant number of women together as a group; a bevy.
- (uncountable) A genre of anime and manga in which a man is the love interest of three or more women.
Translations
the private part of an Arab household
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group of women in a polygamous household
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group of female animals (cows) herded and controlled by a male
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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See also
- concubine
- polygamy
- polygyny
- seraglio
- zenana
Anagrams
- Hamer, Hamre, Maher, Mehra, Rhame, herma, rhema
Catalan
Etymology
From French harem, from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram, “something prohibited; sanctuary, women”). Doublet of haram.
Pronunciation
- (Balearic, Central) IPA(key): /əˈɾɛm/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /aˈɾɛm/
Noun
harem m (plural harems)
- harem
See also
- serrall
Further reading
- “harem” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم, from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɦaː.rəm/
- Hyphenation: ha‧rem
Noun
harem m (plural harems, diminutive harempje n)
- harem (private part of an Arab house, esp. the women's quarters)
- Synonym: haremverblijf
- harem (group of female partners in a polygamous household)
- harem (group of female animals belonging to one male)
Hypernyms
- vrouwenverblijf
- vrouwenvertrek
Derived terms
- harembroek
- haremdame
- haremeunuch
- haremvrouw
- haremwachter
Related terms
- haram
French
Noun
harem m (plural harems)
- harem
Further reading
- “harem”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Indonesian
Etymology
From Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem) (Modern Turkish harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram, “something prohibited; sanctuary, women”); and later also from حَرِيم (ḥarīm) with same meaning, both from حَرُمَ (ḥaruma, “be forbidden or unlawful”). Doublet of haram.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈharəm]
- Rhymes: -rəm, -əm, -m
- Hyphenation: ha‧rêm
Noun
harêm (first-person possessive haremku, second-person possessive haremmu, third-person possessive haremnya)
- harem:
- the private section of an Arab household, traditionally forbidden to male strangers.
- a group of someone's girlfriends, wives and/or concubines in a polygamous household.
- (biology) a group of female animals (cows) herded and controlled by a male animal (bull) of that species for breeding purposes; such behaviour is exhibited by bovids including cattle and buffalo as well as moose, elephants, seals, sea lions, baboons, and elephant seals.
- (biology) a group of female birds mated to or associated with a breeding male.
Related terms
- haram
Further reading
- “harem” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.
Italian
Etymology
Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈa.rem/, (traditional, elevated style) /aˈrɛm/[1]
- Rhymes: -arem, (traditional, elevated style) -ɛm
- Hyphenation: hà‧rem, (traditional, elevated style) ha‧rèm
Noun
harem m (invariable)
- harem
References
- harem in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
Polish
Etymology
Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem) (Turkish harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈxa.rɛm/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -arɛm
- Syllabification: ha‧rem
Noun
harem m inan
- harem
Declension
Declension of harem
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | harem | haremy |
| genitive | haremu | haremów |
| dative | haremowi | haremom |
| accusative | harem | haremy |
| instrumental | haremem | haremami |
| locative | haremie | haremach |
| vocative | haremie | haremy |
Derived terms
- haremowy
Further reading
- harem in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- harem in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram).
Noun
harem n (plural haremuri)
- harem
Declension
Declension of harem
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
| nominative/accusative | (un) harem | haremul | (niște) haremuri | haremurile |
| genitive/dative | (unui) harem | haremului | (unor) haremuri | haremurilor |
| vocative | haremule | haremurilor | ||
Serbo-Croatian
Etymology
Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram).
Noun
hárem m (Cyrillic spelling ха́рем)
- harem
Declension
Declension of harem
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | harem | haremi |
| genitive | harema | harema |
| dative | haremu | haremima |
| accusative | harem | hareme |
| vocative | hareme | haremi |
| locative | haremu | haremima |
| instrumental | haremom | haremima |
Swedish
Noun
harem n
- a harem
Declension
| Declension of harem | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
| Nominative | harem | haremet | harem | haremen |
| Genitive | harems | haremets | harems | haremens |
References
- harem in Svensk ordbok (SO)
- harem in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
- harem in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
Turkish
Etymology
From Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram).
Noun
harem (definite accusative haremi, plural haremler)
- harem
Declension
| Inflection | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | harem | |
| Definite accusative | haremi | |
| Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative | harem | haremler |
| Definite accusative | haremi | haremleri |
| Dative | hareme | haremlere |
| Locative | haremde | haremlerde |
| Ablative | haremden | haremlerden |
| Genitive | haremin | haremlerin |