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harem

 - 3 dictionary results

har⋅em

  [hair-uhm, har-]
Use harem in a Sentence
–noun
1. the part of a Muslim palace or house reserved for the residence of women.
2. the women in a Muslim household, including the mother, sisters, wives, concubines, daughters, entertainers, and servants.
3. Animal Behavior. a social group of females, as elephant seals, accompanied or followed by one fertile male who denies other males access to the group.
4. Facetious or Offensive. a group of women associated in any way with one man or household: Father joked that he had a harem of five daughters.
Also, haram, hareem, harim.

Origin:
1625–35; < Ar harīm harem, lit., forbidden
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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har·em   (hâr'əm, hār'-)   
n.  

  1. A house or a section of a house reserved for women members of a Muslim household.

  2. The wives, concubines, female relatives, and servants occupying such a place.

  3. A group of women sexual partners for one man.


[Turkish, from Arabic ḥarīm, forbidden place, from ḥarama, to prohibit; see ḥrm in Semitic roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

harem 
1634, from Turk. harem, from Arabic haram "wives and concubines," originally "women's quarters," lit. "something forbidden or kept safe," from root of harama "he guarded, forbade."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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