Concubine

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkɑŋkjəbaɪn/

Definitions

1. A woman who lives with a man in a sexual relationship without being married to him, especially in historical or polygamous societies
2. A woman in a long-term intimate relationship with a man who is not her husband, particularly in historical or non-Western cultural contexts
3. A female partner in an extramarital or non-marital cohabitation arrangement, especially in societies permitting multiple simultaneous unions

Etymology: The Latin verb "concumbere" meant "to lie together," built from "com-" ("together") and "cubare" ("to lie down"), the same root that gives English "cubicle" and "incubate." The feminine noun "concubina" therefore literally described a woman who lay with someone, and Romans used it without the moral baggage English later attached to it. In Latin, a concubine was a partner who lived with a man without a legally recognized marriage, a status that could be stable and long-lasting rather than casual. The word reached English in the Middle Ages, first appearing in the 1250–1300 period as "concubine," having passed through Anglo-Norman. Its neutral origin gradually gave way to a more pejorative sense as the status it named came to be seen as sinful or lesser in Christian moral thinking, which is why the word now sounds more judgmental than its Latin ancestor.

Synonyms: mistress, partner, lover, paramour