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harem

Arabic ḥaram means 'something forbidden or sacred'. It named the sanctuary at Mecca and also the women's quarters of a house, closed to outside men; English took harem from Ottoman Turkish in the 1630s, French Orientalist painting spread it across Europe, and Japanese anime gave it a new genre.

Weakest linkCertain

The road to English

From Ottoman Turkish to Turkish

From Ottoman Turkish to Polish

From Arabic to Persian

From Persian to Hindi

From Ottoman Turkish to French

From French to German

From French to Spanish

From French to Russian

From English to Japanese

630 CEArabic

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

harem

Weakest linkCertain

The road to English

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