From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishharemhar‧em /ˈhɑːrim, hɑːˈriːm $ ˈhɑːrəm, ˈher-/ noun [countable] 1 MARRYthe group of wives or women who lived with a rich or powerful man in some Muslim societies in the past2 TBBpart of a Muslim house that is separate from the rest of the house, where only women live
Examples from the Corpus
harem• I was born in a harem, and I instinctively understood very young that behind every boundary something terrifying is hiding.• Thanks largely to the tradition of the harem and their own recent suppression, Arab women had a strong sense of sisterhood.Origin harem (1600-1700) Arabic harim “something forbidden” 