| 释义 |
harem, haram|ˈhɛərəm|
Also 7 haramm, 8 harram |hɑːˈræm|; 9 hareem, harīm |hɑːˈriːm|.
[a. Arab. ḥaram, and ḥarīm lit. (that which is) prohibited or unlawful, that which a man defends and fights for, as his family, a sacred place, sanctuary, enclosure; the women's part of the house; wives, women; from ḥarama to prohibit, forbid, make unlawful. The two Arabic words are practically synonymous, esp. in countries where Arabic is not the vernacular. From the first come the earlier Eng. haram and harem; from the second the later harim, hareem; see also sense 3.]
1. a. The part of a Muslim dwelling-house appropriated to the women, constructed so as to secure the utmost seclusion and privacy; called also seraglio, and in Persia and India zenana.
1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 62 He has three hundred women in his Seraglio (called here Haram). Ibid. 148 The other women belonging to Seraglioes or Haramms, live discontented. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 132 The Governor sent for me to visit his Lady in the Haram. 1718Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to C'tess Mar 10 Mar., I have been in a harem, where the winter apartment was wainscoted with inlaid work of mother-of-pearl. 1753Hanway Trav. (1762) I. iii. xxxiv. 157 The harram is magnificent, consisting of a square within its own wall of brick. 1864Engel Mus. Anc. Nat. 220 This drum is especially used in the hareems. 1872Baker Nile Tribut. xx. 349 Brought by the Abyssinian traders to be sold for the Turkish harems.
b. transf. and fig.
1823Scott Peveril xlix, [She] stood with her arms folded on her breast, with an humble air, as different from that which she wore in the harem of the Duke of Buckingham as that of a Magdalene from a Judith. 1870Emerson Soc. & Solit., Books Wks. (Bohn) III. 86 A man's library is a sort of harem. 1872O. W. Holmes Poet Breakf.-t. viii. 248, I must have my literary harem, my parc aux cerfs, where my favorites await my moments of leisure and pleasure.
2. a. The occupants of a harem collectively; the female members of a Muslim family; esp. the wives and concubines collectively of a Turk, Persian, or Indian Muslim.
1781Cowper Anti-Thelypthora 108 Seraglios sing and harems dance for joy. 1821Byron Sardan. i. i, Were it less toil..To head an army than to rule a harem? 1855Burton Pilgr. Meccah xv. (1893) I. 295 The kitchen..being as usual occupied by the ‘Harim’. 1879E. K. Bates Egyptian Bonds I. iii. 37 The Viceroy's harem were disporting themselves on the sand.
b. transf. and fig. Applied spec. to the family units of various animals.
1784Cowper Task iv. 447 Where chanticleer amidst his haram sleeps In unsuspecting pomp. 1855Thackeray Newcomes II. xxxvi. 324 Could our hearts let in such a harem of dear friendships. 1860Motley Netherl. (1868) I. ii. 47 In the harem entertained for him in the Louvre many pitfalls entrapped him. 1898D. S. Jordan Fur Seals i. 57 The average size of a harem..is about thirty females to a single bull. 1932S. Zuckerman Soc. Life Monkeys & Apes xi. 178 Sokolowsky's account of sexual life in a chimpanzee harem is by far the best that has hitherto appeared. 1948A. L. Rand Mammals E. Rockies 26 In the autumn..the bull elk come down from the mountains to gather their harems. 1955L. Darling Seals & Walruses 24 There are an average of forty cows in a fur seal's harem. 1964G. Durrell Menagerie Manor i. 32 The peacock..leading his vacant⁓eyed harem towards their roosting place.
3. A Muslim sacred place or area; one which is prohibited to any but the Faithful. More usually in form harām, Arabic ḥarām, forbidden, sacred place.
1855Burton Pilgr. Meccah xv. (1893) I. 294 We all set out in a body to the Harim..a duty which must not be delayed by the pious. 1883A. Thomson Holy Land vi. 106 On the summit of Mount Moriah..there spreads the noble enclosure of the Haram.
4. Comb., as harem-court, harem-wall; harem-bred adj.; harem dress, a dress with a harem hem; harem hem, a hem which draws in the material which then billows over it; harem skirt, a loose trouser-like skirt as worn in a harem, or an imitation of one; hence harem-skirted adj.
1829Bengalee 226 Humble puppet, Haram slave. 1853Kingsley Hypatia xviii, Wulf came rapidly down stairs, through the hall into the harem-court. 1883A. Thomson Holy Land viii. 138 To sink shafts as near as possible to the prohibited distance, and then to approach the Haram walls by tunnelling underneath. 1890C. W. C. Oman Hist. Greece 187 A mere harem-bred despot. 1911Sphere 11 Mar. 219 The opinions of London and Paris over the harem skirt seem to be as divided as is the costume itself. 1927Delineator June 21 Chéruit was the first to make taffeta frocks in great puffs with harem hems. 1952California Stylist May, The harem dress..mushrooming fullness on a delicate stem. 1957Punch 14 Aug. 191/1 His cocktail and evening dresses are harem skirted, and there was a bright yellow harem trouser-dress. 1958J. Laver Edwardian Promenade vii. 163 Two symbolic kinds of skirt: the harem skirt and the hobbleskirt. 1958Vogue Mid-Sept. Extra Issue 77/4 Electric blue chiffon softly wrapping a tiny waist and gently curving into a harem hem. 1966Sunday Times (Colour Suppl.) 27 Feb. 32/4 Paul Poiret's harem dress..was inspired by Bakst's designs. |
