almah

English

The Almeh (1873) by Jean-Léon Gérôme

Alternative forms

alma
alme
almeh

Etymology

Ultimately from Arabic عَالِمَة‎ (ʿālima, “singer”), originally a feminine adjective meaning ‘learned, knowledgeable’, from عَلِمَ‎ (ʿalima, “to know”).

Pronunciation

(US) IPA^(key): /ˈæl.mə/

Noun

almah (plural almahs or almah)

An Egyptian singer or dancing-girl used for entertainment; a dancing-girl, a prostitute. [from 18th c.]
- 1998, Catherine Gillivray, translating Hélène Cixous, Firstdays of the Year, Minnesota 1998, p. 157:
  Nostalgia is almah, the Arab dancing girl. She tells me stories of the drowned, the deadest of this world's dead.

Translations

dancing-girl

French: almée (fr) f
Italian: almea f
Polish: almeja (pl) f

Anagrams

Halma, Hamal, Mahal, amlah, halma, hamal, mahal