From Arabic harIm (literally "something forbidden") and haram (literally "a sanctuary")
In Turkey, Persia, and other areas of the Middle East, the harem was a section of a palace where the women of the palace lived. Contrary to popular belief, the harem was not a brothel; that's simply a Western viewpoint. The harem did house the wives (and sometimes concubines) of the Shah, but his female relatives also lived there.
Still, there are many cases where a group of females linked sexually to one male (or males linked to one female) is referred to as a harem.
In Turkey, Persia, and other areas of the Middle East, the harem was a section of a palace where the women of the palace lived. Contrary to popular belief, the harem was not a brothel; that's simply a Western viewpoint. The harem did house the wives (and sometimes concubines) of the Shah, but his female relatives also lived there.
Still, there are many cases where a group of females linked sexually to one male (or males linked to one female) is referred to as a harem.
Sure, the harem is associated with polygamous sexual relations, but not all of them are based on sex: a woman with a large group of gay male friends could refer to them as her "harem".
by Lorelili February 22, 2006
Get the harem mug.A child born to unmarried parents, the most neutral way of describing a child as illegitimate or a bastard.
"Natural child" sounds much better than "love child"; George Carlin put it, "I have a love child who sends me hate mail."
"Bastard" is too loaded and "love child" sounds silly, since the "love child" is often the unintended result of one-night stands where love hardly features.
At least "natural child" is accurate without any silly, infantile euphemisms or insulting connotations.
"Bastard" is too loaded and "love child" sounds silly, since the "love child" is often the unintended result of one-night stands where love hardly features.
At least "natural child" is accurate without any silly, infantile euphemisms or insulting connotations.
by Lorelili July 22, 2014
Get the natural child mug.(1501-1536) The second wife of Henry VIII; she refused to be his mistress and would only give herself to him as his wife, never mind that Henry had been married to Katherine of Aragon for over twenty years.
Henry's efforts to discard Katherine, who had been able to produce one living child out of six, their daughter Mary, and Anne's determination to become the queen sparked the English Reformation.
Ultimately, Anne, like Katherine before her, was under enormous pressure to bear sons; she was only able to bear Henry a daughter, Elizabeth I, a stillborn son, and miscarried two other children. Impatient for a son and fed up by Anne's refusal to switch to the demure, submissive role of a wife, Henry had Anne arrested on fabricated charges of adultery, treason, and incest with her brother and had her beheaded.
Henry's efforts to discard Katherine, who had been able to produce one living child out of six, their daughter Mary, and Anne's determination to become the queen sparked the English Reformation.
Ultimately, Anne, like Katherine before her, was under enormous pressure to bear sons; she was only able to bear Henry a daughter, Elizabeth I, a stillborn son, and miscarried two other children. Impatient for a son and fed up by Anne's refusal to switch to the demure, submissive role of a wife, Henry had Anne arrested on fabricated charges of adultery, treason, and incest with her brother and had her beheaded.
An unremarkable brunette with piercing black eyes and olive skin, Anne Boleyn's charisma, wit, and charm, in addition to her sharp tongue and fiery temper, entranced Henry VIII... although the English people hated her, denouncing her as a whore, a heretic, and a witch.
Anne Boleyn, a complicated character, is admired for her bold, witty, outspoken nature and her stridently sexy allure, plus the fact that she bore Elizabeth I. Still, she was widely hated as a homewrecker and a Protestant. Katherine of Aragon was widely beloved by the people, especially among women, while Anne Boleyn was openly denounced and had only Henry's affections as defense.
Anne Boleyn, a complicated character, is admired for her bold, witty, outspoken nature and her stridently sexy allure, plus the fact that she bore Elizabeth I. Still, she was widely hated as a homewrecker and a Protestant. Katherine of Aragon was widely beloved by the people, especially among women, while Anne Boleyn was openly denounced and had only Henry's affections as defense.
by Lorelili January 01, 2011
Get the Anne Boleyn mug.The Gaelic word for a noblewoman, a lady. Used as a form of address or a formal title for a woman.
Ireland: "ban-WAH-sal"
Scotland: "ben-WAH-sal"
Ireland: "ban-WAH-sal"
Scotland: "ben-WAH-sal"
Thuirt Bean-uasal nic Bheatha ri a fear-cèile a mharbhadh an Rìgh Donnachadh.
(Lady MacBeth said to her husband to kill King Duncan.)
(Lady MacBeth said to her husband to kill King Duncan.)
by Lorelili March 20, 2006
Get the bean-uasal mug.Due to the presence of "where", many people mistake this Shakespearean word to mean "where", but it actually means "why".
"...there's the catalog... with a cartoon of Shakespeare's Juliet standing on her balcony, gazing off into the distance, and asking 'Wherefore art thou, teaching aids?' Lower on the page, Romeo stares up at Juliet and says 'Inside! Eighteen new publications plus many other fine materials.'... any teaching aid that advertises itself by questioning its own existance is falling down in the marketing department." -Richard Lederer.
"...there's the catalog... with a cartoon of Shakespeare's Juliet standing on her balcony, gazing off into the distance, and asking 'Wherefore art thou, teaching aids?' Lower on the page, Romeo stares up at Juliet and says 'Inside! Eighteen new publications plus many other fine materials.'... any teaching aid that advertises itself by questioning its own existance is falling down in the marketing department." -Richard Lederer.
Juliet: (on the balcony, looking off into the distance) "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"
Romeo: (standing right under her, thinking to himself) "Wherefore dost I quander my hour with yonder wayward, motley-minded flax-wench?"
Romeo: (standing right under her, thinking to himself) "Wherefore dost I quander my hour with yonder wayward, motley-minded flax-wench?"
by Lorelili April 01, 2006
Get the wherefore mug.A good excuse to use the words "nigger".
She who supported the war in Iraq and lied about the war, resulting in the deaths of innocent people: Iraqi civilians, woung men and women who had their whole lives ahead of them... now thanks to George W. Bush and this stupid cunt, among others, the United States are in deep shit.
She who supported the war in Iraq and lied about the war, resulting in the deaths of innocent people: Iraqi civilians, woung men and women who had their whole lives ahead of them... now thanks to George W. Bush and this stupid cunt, among others, the United States are in deep shit.
by Lorelili March 28, 2005
Get the condoleezza rice mug.The Tutsi are one of the native peoples of Rwanda, along with the Hutu and Twa. Historically, the Tutsi and Hutu were known mainly by their role; the Tutsi were mainly pastoral and usually of the nobility and the ruling class while the Hutu were more often peasant farmers, although there were Hutu rulers and Hutu and Tutsi could easily exchange roles. Hutu and Tusi share the same language and culture and intermarriage between Hutu and Tutsi is common (although a Tutsi man marrying a Hutu woman is very rare and a Hutu man marrying a Tutsi woman is quite common).
The Belgians, upon colonizing Rwanda, were taken by the (seemingly) more "European" facial features of the Tutsi (stereotypically, the Tutsi are taller and thinner, with longer, more pointed noses, straighter hair, and more angular features) and favored them over the stockier, medium-sized Hutu. Never mind that there are Hutu who look Tutsi, Tutsi who look Hutu, that many Rwandans fit neither discription and that intermarriage is common, this played a huge role in creating tension between Hutu and Tutsi... thus leading to the 1994 genocide.
The Belgians, upon colonizing Rwanda, were taken by the (seemingly) more "European" facial features of the Tutsi (stereotypically, the Tutsi are taller and thinner, with longer, more pointed noses, straighter hair, and more angular features) and favored them over the stockier, medium-sized Hutu. Never mind that there are Hutu who look Tutsi, Tutsi who look Hutu, that many Rwandans fit neither discription and that intermarriage is common, this played a huge role in creating tension between Hutu and Tutsi... thus leading to the 1994 genocide.
By Belgian definition, a Tutsi was a person with more than ten cow and a long, pointed nose, while a Hutu was a person with less than ten cows and a broad, short nose. Discriminatory? I think so.
Tutsi were referred to by the Radio-Television des Los Mille Collines as "cockroaches," thus showing how the Hutu felt about them.
Tutsi were referred to by the Radio-Television des Los Mille Collines as "cockroaches," thus showing how the Hutu felt about them.
by Lorelili November 07, 2006
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