Women who lived with men as secondary wives or mistresses, especially in polygamous societies.
From Latin concubina (female who lies with), from con- (with) + cubare (to lie down). The term reflects the sexual and domestic arrangements of ancient patriarchal societies.
The word 'concubine' reveals how language can formalize inequality - by creating a specific term for women in secondary relationships, ancient societies linguistically encoded a hierarchy that gave these women some status while keeping them permanently subordinate to wives.
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