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harem[harem 词源字典]

harem: [17] Etymologically, Arabic harīm is a ‘forbidden place’. It is a derivative of the verb harama ‘prohibit’ (whence also harmattan, literally ‘the forbidden one’, the name of a dry dusty Saharan wind). Hence it came to be applied to a part of a Muslim house reserved for women, and by extension to the women who lived there – the wives and concubines of the master of the household.

Synonymous terms in English include seraglio, which comes via Italian and Turkish from Persian serāi ‘residence, palace’, and forms the second element of caravanserai, and zenana, which is derived ultimately from Persian zan ‘woman’, a relative of Greek guné ‘woman’ (as in English gynaecology).
[harem etymology, harem origin, 英语词源]