concubine

con·cu·bine  (kngky-bn, kn-)

n.

1. Law A woman who cohabits with a man without being legally married to him.

2. In certain societies, such as imperial China, a woman contracted to a man as a secondary wife, often having few legal rights and low social status.

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[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin concubna : com-, com- + cubre, to lie down.]

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concubine [kon-kew-bine]

Noun

1. Old-fashioned a woman living with a man as his wife, but not married to him

2. a secondary wife in polygamous societies [Latin concumbere to lie together]

concubinage n

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

concubine - a woman who cohabits with an important man courtesan, doxy, paramour kept woman, mistress, fancy woman - an adulterous woman; a woman who has an ongoing extramarital sexual relationship with a man odalisque - a woman slave in a harem

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concubine

noun (Old-fashioned) mistress, courtesan, kept woman