concubine

noun

con·​cu·​bine ˈkäŋ-kyu̇-ˌbīn How to pronounce concubine (audio)
ˈkän-,
-kyü-
: a woman with whom a man cohabits without being married: such as
a
: one having a recognized social status in a household below that of a wife

Examples of concubine in a Sentence

the offspring of one of the monarch's concubines
Recent Examples on the Web On an Indonesian island in 1900, Dutch sugar plantation owner Jan and his wife Agathe are at the top of the food chain, until Jan, after returning from his nightly visit to his concubine Siti, drops dead. Patrick Frater, Variety, 5 Oct. 2023 Until Jan upon returning from his nightly visit to his native concubine Siti, suddenly drops dead. Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Sep. 2023 That is, until Jan, upon returning from his nightly visit to his native concubine, Siti (Hayati Azis), suddenly drops dead in front of his wife. Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 4 Sep. 2023 That is, until Jan, upon returning from his nightly visit to his native concubine, Siti, suddenly drops dead in front of his wife. Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 15 May 2023 The young women entered Kalinago society as their captor’s concubine or his wife’s servant. Catherine M. Cameron, Scientific American, 1 Dec. 2017 These were the same men, many whose statutes adorn the town squares, that reduced the Black mammy’s sons to ashes and their daughters to concubines under the system of Jim Crow. Dr. Robert O. White Ii, al, 26 Jan. 2023 Men might take Makú women as concubines but would never consider marrying one. Catherine M. Cameron, Scientific American, 1 Dec. 2017 Griffin asked the woman to be his concubine, or second wife, the police document states. Dallas News, 29 Dec. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'concubine.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin concubina, from com- + cubare to lie

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of concubine was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near concubine

Cite this Entry

“Concubine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/concubine. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

concubine

noun
con·​cu·​bine ˈkäŋ-kyu̇-ˌbīn How to pronounce concubine (audio)
ˈkän-
: a woman who lives with a man and among some peoples has a legally recognized position in his household less than that of a wife

More from Merriam-Webster on concubine

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