concubine:
(plural: ‘concubines‘; pronunciation: both the letters ‘c’ are said with a ‘k’ sound; the middle sound, ‘cu’, rhymes with a short ‘q’ sound; and the end sound rhymes with the word ‘combine‘ — for the right pronunciation of this word, please click here)
a concubine
(in some societies) a woman who lives with a man as his wife but not legally married and does not enjoy a good status in the society, especially the woman who has regular sex with him, in addition to the man’s lawful wife;
a kept woman; a mistress;
(In some other societies, especially in China) a woman who has a contract to live with a man without legally married but has some legal rights to his property, etc. and enjoys a good status in the society,
a man with one wife (R) & two concubines (L,L)
Sally did not like to live with John as a concubine, and so she turned down John’s proposal of them living together without getting married!
In the past, it was customary for the male members of royal families around the world to have a legitimate wife and several concubines.
Even in some present societies, not only the concubines of a rich man but also the children of those concubines do not have legal rights to claim for a share of the property, title or insurance benefits of the man if he dies without making a will.
