Hypertext Webster Gateway: "concubine"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Concubine
in the Bible denotes a female conjugally united to a man, but in
a relation inferior to that of a wife. Among the early Jews,
from various causes, the difference between a wife and a
concubine was less marked than it would be amongst us. The
concubine was a wife of secondary rank. There are various laws
recorded providing for their protection (Ex. 21:7; Deut.
21:10-14), and setting limits to the relation they sustained to
the household to which they belonged (Gen. 21:14; 25:6). They
had no authority in the family, nor could they share in the
household government.
The immediate cause of concubinage might be gathered from the
conjugal histories of Abraham and Jacob (Gen. 16;30). But in
process of time the custom of concubinage degenerated, and laws
were made to restrain and regulate it (Ex. 21:7-9).
Christianity has restored the sacred institution of marriage
to its original character, and concubinage is ranked with the
sins of fornication and adultery (Matt. 19:5-9; 1 Cor. 7:2).
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Concubine \Con"cu*bine\, n. [F., fr. L. concubina; con- + cubare
to lie down, concumbere to lie together, akin to E. cubit.]
1. A woman who cohabits with a man without being his wife; a
paramour.
Note: Concubine has been sometimes, but rarely, used of a
male paramour as well as of a female. --Trench.
2. A wife of inferior condition; a lawful wife, but not
united to the man by the usual ceremonies, and of inferior
condition. Such were Hagar and Keturah, the concubines of
Abraham; and such concubines were allowed by the Roman
laws. Their children were not heirs of their father.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
concubine
n : a woman who cohabits with an important man [syn: {courtesan},
{doxy}, {odalisque}, {paramour}]
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