harem
Wives' secluded wing
A harem is the part of a household reserved for women in some Muslim and South Asian cultures, or the women who live there—wives, concubines, and female relatives.
The term extends to any group of women associated with one man: He arrived with his harem of admirers.
In biology, a harem is a group of females controlled by a single dominant male, as in elephant seals or gorillas.
Muslim royal ruler
- seraglioSecluded women's quarters
- TopkapiIstanbul imperial palace
- concubineSecondary female partner
- odalisqueHarem slave or attendant
eunuch · Suleiman · Sublime Porte · Constantinople · Istanbul · vizier · pasha · imperial
Strikingly unusual, foreign-seeming
- sensualOf bodily pleasure
- mysteriousBeyond easy comprehension
- opulentOstentatiously wealthy
- arabesqueFlowing ornamental design
luxurious · romanticized · fantasy · Delacroix · odalisque · stereotype · eroticized · imagined
Married female partners
- concubinesNon-wife sexual partners kept
- consortsSpouses of rulers
- co-wivesFellow spouses in polygyny
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
favorites · rivalry · polygyny · patriarch · household · lineage · heirs · fertility
Set apart, private
- cloisteredSheltered from outside contact
- sequesteredRemoved from contact
- veiledConcealed or obscured
- guardedWary and restrained
enclosed · private · forbidden · inner chambers · segregated · hidden · curtained · protected
Members of that sex
- dominant maleHighest-ranking man
- prideSatisfaction from one's achievements
- herdGrazing animals together
- territoryLand under jurisdiction
mating · stallion · bull · elephant seal · gorilla · silverback · reproductive · polygynous
sultan
Muslim royal ruler
odalisque · eunuch · Suleiman · Sublime Porte · Constantinople · Istanbul · vizier · pasha · imperial · favorites
exotic
Strikingly unusual, foreign-seeming
- sensualOf bodily pleasure
- mysteriousBeyond easy comprehension
- opulentOstentatiously wealthy
arabesque · luxurious · romanticized · fantasy · Delacroix · odalisque · stereotype · eroticized · imagined · colonial
wives
Married female partners
- concubinesNon-wife sexual partners kept
- consortsSpouses of rulers
- co-wivesFellow spouses in polygyny
hierarchy · favorites · rivalry · polygyny · patriarch · household · lineage · heirs · fertility · dynastic
secluded
Set apart, private
- cloisteredSheltered from outside contact
- sequesteredRemoved from contact
- veiledConcealed or obscured
guarded · enclosed · private · forbidden · inner chambers · segregated · hidden · curtained · protected · inaccessible
females
Members of that sex
- dominant maleHighest-ranking man
- prideSatisfaction from one's achievements
- herdGrazing animals together
territory · mating · stallion · bull · elephant seal · gorilla · silverback · reproductive · polygynous · social structure
- horseshorse, mare, mares, stallion, stallions
- marriagebride, groom, wedding, husband, wife
- Arabian NightsAladdin, Scheherazade, Ali Baba, Arabian Nights, Sinbad
- Arabic loanwordsalgebra, algorithm, alcohol, alchemy, alkali
- royal courtking, queen, prince, princess, crown
- visual story genresaction, adventure, crime, fantasy, horror
- harem pantsLoose trousers gathered at ankles
- harem girl
- Masjid al-HaramSacred mosque in Mecca
- imperial haremRuler's secluded women's quarters
- Boko HaramNigerian jihadist organization