Meaning

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

Definitions by Sense

1. A sexual partner, especially a woman, to whom one is not or cannot be married.
2. A woman who lives with a man, but who is not a wife.
3. (chiefly historical) A slave-girl or woman, kept for instance in a harem, who is held for sexual service.

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.

Solomon, who was one of the Deity's favorities, had a copulation cabinet composed of seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines.

Word Forms

• concubines

Synonyms for concubine

Related Words

When Should You Use Concubine?

Use concubine when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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