hetaera
Appearance
See also: hetæra
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Ancient Greek ἑταῖρα (hetaîra), feminine of ἑταῖρος (hetaîros, “companion”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]hetaera (plural hetaerae or hetaeras)
- (historical, Ancient Greece) A highly cultivated hired female companion who would entertain upper-class male clients and might perform sex acts for them.
- Coordinate term: courtesan
- 1957, Lawrence Durrell, Justine:
- But of course our friend is only a shallow twentieth-century reproduction of the great hetairae of the past, the type to which she belongs without knowing it, Lais, Charis and the rest...
- A mistress.
- 1971, Gottfried Benn, E. B. Ashton, Primal vision: selected writings:
- Woman is dethroned as the primary and supreme sex, debased into inseminable hetaera.
- 1980, Anthony Burgess, Earthly Powers:
- Christ appeared, only to reveal himself as the naked god Pan. Ballet of hetaerae and houris, choreography by Italo Castaldi.
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]hired female companion
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Further reading
[edit]Categories:
- English terms borrowed from Ancient Greek
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- English terms with historical senses
- en:Ancient Greece
- English terms with quotations
- en:Prostitution