harem means the private section of a Muslim household forbidden to male strangers. It carries an Arena rating of 1539, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, harem ranks #1,109 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,529 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #2,858 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #5,380 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words.
harem is pronounced /ˈhɑːɹəm/.
Why “harem” is a great word
A private section of a Muslim household reserved for women, or the collective group of women inhabiting it. From Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram, 'something prohibited; sanctuary') and حَرِيم (ḥarīm, 'women's quarters'), both from the root ح ر م (ḥ-r-m) meaning 'to be forbidden.' Unlike 'seraglio,' which denotes the sovereign's palace itself, or 'polygyny,' which names the social practice of multiple wives, harem is the lived space and the collective body within it. It is the carved wooden screen filtering light into amber geometry, the murmur of unseen fountains behind high walls, the intricate politics of a society seen from the inside out—a forbidden microcosm where the sacred and the sequestered share the same breath.
Etymology
Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem) (whence 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 and herem.
noun
- The private section of a Muslim household forbidden to male strangers.
- 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 (including elephant seals), sea lions, and baboons.
- A group of female birds mated to or associated with a breeding male.e.g.“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.” — 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 90:
- Any significant number of women together as a group; a bevy.
- A genre of anime and manga in which a man is the love interest of three or more women.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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