Dictionary entry

Harem

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Ha″rem (hā″rĕm; 277), n. [Ar. haram, orig., anything forbidden or sacred, fr. harama to forbid, prohibit.] [Written also haram and hareem.] 1. The apartments or portion of the house allotted to females in Mohammedan families.

2. The family of wives and concubines belonging to one man, in Mohammedan countries; a seraglio.