harem
noun/ˈhɑːriːm/, /ˈhɑːrəm/
/ˈhærəm/
- the women or wives belonging to a rich man, especially in some Muslim societies in the past
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
- the separate part of a traditional Muslim house where the women live
- (specialist) a group of female animals that share the same male for producing youngTopics Animalsc2
Word Originmid 17th cent. (in sense (2)): from Arabic ḥaram, ḥarīm, literally ‘prohibited, prohibited place’ (hence ‘sanctuary, women's quarters, women’), from ḥarama ‘be prohibited’.
Check pronunciation:
harem