harem

See also: hárem, harém, and Harem

English

Alternative forms

• hareem (dated)
• harim (dated)

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem) Turkish harem, from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram, “something prohibited; sanctuary, women”); and later also from حَرِيم (ḥarīm) with same meaning, both from حَرُمَ (ḥaruma, “be forbidden or unlawful”). Doublet of haram.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑːɹiːm/, /(ˌ)hɑːˈɹiːm/, /ˈhɛəɹəm/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈhæɹəm/, /ˈhɛəɹəm/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛəɹəm, (General American, Canada) -æɹəm, (Received Pronunciation) -iːm

Noun

harem (countable and uncountable, plural harems)

1. The private section of an Arab household, traditionally forbidden to male strangers. [1841]
   • 1841, James Justinian Morier, The Mirza, volume 3, page 153:

     "In the room next to her own, lived the harem of a merchant who had just arrived from Constantinople with merchandise. It consisted of his wife, children, and two female slaves, who being well off in their circumstances, enjoyed the comforts and conveniences of life, and eat and drank unsparingly every day."

2. A group of someone's girlfriends, wives and/or concubines in a polygamous household.
3. A group of female animals (cows) herded and controlled by a male animal (bull) of that species for breeding purposes. Such behaviour is exhibited by bovids including cattle and buffalo as well as moose, elephants, seals (including elephant seals), sea lions, and baboons. [2006]
   • 2006 Maestripieri, Dario; Mayhew, Jessica; Carlson, Cindy L.; Hoffman, Christy L.; and Radtke, Jennifer M. "One-Male Harems and Female Social Dynamics in Guinea Baboons", published in Folia Primatol 2007; 78:56–68, doi 10.1159/000095686
4. (ornithology) A group of female birds mated to or associated with a breeding male.
   • 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 90:

     In the meantime we were hidden in a close juniper thicket on the little knoll, and expected the capercailzie cock every moment; but our old friend tarried a long time in his harem.

5. (slang) Any significant number of women together as a group; a bevy.
6. (uncountable) A genre of anime and manga in which a man is the love interest of three or more women.

Hyponyms

• (private area for wives, women thus kept): zenana (Indian contexts)

Derived terms

• harem ending
• harem pants
• harem slipper
• harem trousers
• reverse harem

 

Translations

the private part of an Arab or Muslim Indian household

• Albanian: harem (sq) m
• Arabic: حَرِيم m (ḥarīm), حَرَمْلِك m (ḥaramlik)

  Egyptian Arabic: حريم m (ḥarīm)

• Armenian: կանանոց (hy) (kananocʻ), հարեմ (hy) (harem)
• Azerbaijani: hərəm, hərəmxana
• Belarusian: гарэ́м m (harém)
• Bengali: হারেম (bn) (harem), হেরেম (bn) (herem), অন্দরমহল (bn) (ôndôrmôhôl)
• Bulgarian: харе́м m (harém)
• Catalan: harem (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 後宮／后宫 (zh) (hòugōng)

• Coptic: ⲁⲡⲉ m (ape)
• Czech: harém m
• Danish: harem n
• Dutch: harem (nl) m, vrouwenverblijf n
• Egyptian: (jpt)
• Esperanto: haremo
• Estonian: haarem
• Finnish: haaremi (fi)
• French: harem (fr) m, zenana (fr) (South Asia)
• Galician: harén (gl) m
• Georgian: ჰარამხანა (haramxana)
• German: Harem (de) m
• Greek: χαρέμι (el) n (charémi)
• Hebrew: הַרְמוֹן (he) m (harmón)
• Hindi: हरम (hi) (haram), हरमसरा f (harmasrā), रनवास (hi) m (ranvās), जनानख़ाना m (janānxānā), जनानखाना (hi) m (janānkhānā), अंतःपुर (hi) m (antaḥpur), महलसरा (hi) m (mahlasrā)
• Hungarian: hárem (hu)
• Icelandic: kvennabúr (is) n
• Ido: haremo (io)
• Indonesian: harem (id)
• Japanese: ハーレム (ja) (hāremu), 後宮 (ja) (こうきゅう, kōkyū)
• Kazakh: харам (xaram), харамхана (xaramxana), гарем (garem)
• Korean: 하렘 (harem), 후궁 (ko) (hugung)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: harem (ku)

• Kyrgyz: гарем (ky) (garem)
• Latvian: harēms m
• Lithuanian: haremas m
• Macedonian: харем m (harem)
• Malay: haram (ms), harem (ms)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: harem n

  Nynorsk: harem n

• Pashto: حرم (ps) m (harám), حرمسراى m (haramsarãy)
• Persian: حریم (fa) (harim), حرم‌سرا (haram-sarâ), حرم (fa) (haram)
• Polish: harem (pl) m
• Portuguese: harém (pt) m
• Romanian: harem (ro) n; zenana (ro) f (South Asia)
• Russian: гаре́м (ru) m (garém)
• Sanskrit: अन्तःपुर (sa) n (antaḥpura)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: харем m, харемлук m

  Roman: harem (sh) m, haremluk (sh) m

• Slovak: hárem (sk) m
• Slovene: harem m
• Spanish: harén (es) m, harem (es) m, serrallo m
• Swedish: harem (sv) n
• Tagalog: harem
• Tajik: ҳарам (haram), ҳарамхона (haramxona), ҳарамсаро (haramsaro)
• Tatar: хәрәм (xäräm)
• Thai: ฮาเร็ม (th) (haa-rem)
• Turkish: harem (tr), oda (tr)
• Turkmen: harem, haremhana
• Ukrainian: гаре́м m (harém)
• Urdu: حرم (haram), محل سرا f (mahal-sarā), حرم سرا f (haram-sarā)
• Uyghur: ھەرەمخانا (heremxana), ھەرەم (herem)
• Uzbek: haram (uz), haramxona (uz)
• Vietnamese: hậu cung (vi)
• Welsh: senana m (South Asia)

group of women in a polygamous household

• Arabic: حَرِيم m (ḥarīm)

  Egyptian Arabic: حريم m (ḥarīm)

• Catalan: harem (ca) m
• Czech: harém m
• Danish: harem n
• Dutch: harem (nl) m
• Esperanto: haremo
• Finnish: haaremi (fi)
• French: harem (fr) m; zenana (fr) (South Asia)
• German: Harem (de) m
• Hebrew: הרמון (he) m (harmon)
• Icelandic: kvennabúr (is) n
• Polish: harem (pl) m
• Portuguese: harém (pt) m
• Romanian: harem (ro) n; zenana (ro) (South Asia)
• Russian: гаре́м (ru) m (garém)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: харем m

  Roman: harem (sh) m

• Spanish: harén (es) m, harem (es) m, serrallo m
• Swedish: harem (sv) n
• Turkish: harem (tr)
• Welsh: senana m (South Asia)

group of female animals (cows) herded and controlled by a male

• Catalan: harem (ca) m
• Dutch: harem (nl) m
• Finnish: haaremi (fi)
• Polish: harem (pl) m
• Portuguese: harém (pt) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} харем m (harem)
• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} haremo
• Estonian: ^{(please verify)} haarem
• Hungarian: ^{(please verify)} hárem (hu)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} harem (it)
• Macedonian: ^{(please verify)} харем m (harem)
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} harem (sv) n
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} harem (tr), ^{(please verify)} haremlik (tr)

See also

• concubine
• polygamy
• polygyny
• seraglio
• zenana

Anagrams

• Hamer, Hamre, Maher, Mehra, Rhame, herma, rhema

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from French harem, from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram, “something prohibited; sanctuary, women”). Doublet of haram.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [əˈɾɛm]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [aˈɾem]

Noun

harem m (plural harems)

1. harem

See also

• serrall

Further reading

• “harem” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم, from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɦaː.rəm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ha‧rem

Noun

harem m (plural harems, diminutive harempje n)

1. harem (private part of an Arab house, esp. the women's quarters)

   Synonym: haremverblijf

2. harem (group of female partners in a polygamous household)
3. harem (group of female animals belonging to one male)

Hypernyms

• vrouwenverblijf
• vrouwenvertrek

Derived terms

• harembroek
• haremdame
• haremeunuch
• haremvrouw
• haremwachter

Related terms

• haram

French

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

harem m (plural harems)

1. harem

Further reading

• “harem”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Indonesian

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem) (Modern Turkish harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram, “something prohibited; sanctuary, women”); and later also from حَرِيم (ḥarīm) with same meaning, both from حَرُمَ (ḥaruma, “be forbidden or unlawful”). Doublet of haram.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈharəm]
• Rhymes: -rəm, -əm, -m
• Hyphenation: ha‧rêm

Noun

harêm (first-person possessive haremku, second-person possessive haremmu, third-person possessive haremnya)

1. harem:
   1. the private section of an Arab household, traditionally forbidden to male strangers.
   2. a group of someone's girlfriends, wives and/or concubines in a polygamous household.
   3. (biology) a group of female animals (cows) herded and controlled by a male animal (bull) of that species for breeding purposes; such behaviour is exhibited by bovids including cattle and buffalo as well as moose, elephants, seals, sea lions, baboons, and elephant seals.
   4. (biology) a group of female birds mated to or associated with a breeding male.

Related terms

• haram

 

Further reading

• “harem” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.rem/, (traditional, elevated style) /aˈrɛm/
• Rhymes: -arem, (traditional, elevated style) -ɛm
• Hyphenation: hà‧rem, (traditional, elevated style) ha‧rèm

Noun

harem m (invariable)

1. harem

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram). Doublet of haram.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxa.rɛm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -arɛm
• Syllabification: ha‧rem

Noun

harem m inan

1. harem (the private part of an Arab household)
2. (Islam) harem (group of women in a polygamous household)
3. (humorous) harem (group of women gathered around one man they are interested in)
4. harem (group of female animals (cows) herded and controlled by a male)

Declension

Declension of harem

	singular	plural
nominative	harem	haremy
genitive	haremu	haremów
dative	haremowi	haremom
accusative	harem	haremy
instrumental	haremem	haremami
locative	haremie	haremach
vocative	haremie	haremy

Derived terms

adjective

• haremowy

 

Related terms

adverb

• haremowo

 

Further reading

• harem in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• harem in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Alternative forms

• харем (harem) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram).

Noun

harem n (plural haremuri)

1. harem

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	harem	haremul		haremuri	haremurile
genitive-dative	harem	haremului		haremuri	haremurilor
vocative	haremule			haremurilor

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram).

Noun

hárem m (Cyrillic spelling ха́рем)

1. harem

Declension

Declension of harem

	singular	plural
nominative	harem	haremi
genitive	harema	harema
dative	haremu	haremima
accusative	harem	hareme
vocative	hareme	haremi
locative	haremu	haremima
instrumental	haremom	haremima

Swedish

Noun

harem n

1. a harem

Declension

Declension of harem

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	harem	harems
	definite	haremet	haremets
plural	indefinite	harem	harems
	definite	haremen	haremens

See also

• haram

References

• harem in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• harem in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• harem in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram).

Noun

harem (definite accusative haremi, plural haremler)

1. harem

Declension

Inflection
Nominative	harem
Definite accusative	haremi
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	harem	haremler
Definite accusative	haremi	haremleri
Dative	hareme	haremlere
Locative	haremde	haremlerde
Ablative	haremden	haremlerden
Genitive	haremin	haremlerin