concubine

Definition

A sexual partner, especially a woman, to whom one is not or cannot be married.

Etymology

From Middle English concubine (first attested 1250–1300), from Anglo-Norman concubine, from Latin concubīna, equivalent to concub- (variant stem of concumbō (“to lie together”)) + feminine suffix -īna.

Example Sentences

• "And that is more than I will yield unto: / I know I am too mean to be your queen, / And yet too good to be your concubine."
• "He ſhall be made a chaſte and luſtleſſe Eunuch, And in my Sarell tend my Concubines:"
• "And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead. And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel."

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