Along those lines, so far as I can discern the word 'concubine' itself came about 6000 years ago in the earliest of languages as a swear word by first wives for the new young women that a man brought in. Especially if they weren't added in the formal way or were lower status for some reason.
@andrew @Verifyveritas76
This is me reading into the history a bit and summing a lot of things up. Hence the 'so far as I can discern' part. I am piecing together things from history and different sources. This is complicated so will be long....
The
English word comes from the Latin, and literally translates to 'woman your having sex with' or maybe 'cohabitate with'. etymonline makes the Latin sound
like cohabitation but I suspect common practice also included we'd call today a 'fuck buddy' or mistress. I'd have to ask a Roman historian to say for sure and late roman practice does seem to be like cohabitation. The English usage is closer to what we call cohabitation or LTR -- which is closer to the Hebrew practice -- but also mistress and girlfriend.
But there is another word (or two) in Latin (
pellex or
paelex) meaning mistress/concubine. I'm not sure how that differs from the Latin concubina, but it is related to the Greek/Hebrew words. However based on
this discussion of the practice in both Rome and Greece, which is rather more detailed than I've found yet, I think concubina was a nicer, more polite term.
Note early Hebrew practice comes from southern Mesopotamia. The sanscrit word used in the ancient laws for second wife I havn't been able to decipher yet (as to whether it means simply 'second wife' or 'concubine') but near as I can tell in practice means secondary wife (and the social distinction in Meopotamia was VERY strong).
Different sources have different ideas about where from and the meanings given vary or seem unrelated. So its a bit of a mystery, and many sources say the meaning is 'unknown'. But other sources give some hints.
Concubine in Greek (pallakís) and
Hebrew (pilegesh) is a loan word from another language. Some say its a loan from Greek, but that also is a loanword from an unknown language. Some point to Phonetician and I suspect it actually comes down from
proto-Indo-European (search pallakís); so the oldest of our languages. Ancient Sanskrit has a similar word (
Palagali).
According to
wiktionary pallakis is related to Pallás...
From παλλακίς (pallakís, “concubine”), most likely from Proto-Indo-European *parikeh₂ (“concubine, wanton woman”), related to Avestan (pairikā, “demonic courtesan”) and Manichaean Parthian pryg (parīg)
A
wanton woman basically being a woman who is unchaste, lewd, lavish, lustful, sensual, playful, flirting, or causing sexual excitement. I.e. HOT. I.e., that young woman who seduced your husband into taking her on as a second wife; unlike you who were properly contracted to him. A seductress.
The
male version of that Ancient Greek comes from a word meaning to “to poise, sway, or swing” which itself comes from a
proto-IE meaning “to drive, swing, shake”. In other words, provocative swaying of the hips. (interesting note: some women do this intentionally to attract your eye, but they'll also do it subconsciously around a man they find attractive).
This is also related to the
Greek pallax (youth, maiden) which brings to mind the idea of a young attractive woman.
Not circle back to the Avestan pairikā, listed as demonic courtesan (courtesan meaning lover). It is listed as a source for the
Persian word used to denote a witch, fury, and beautiful woman and this one defines pairikā as "sorceress,witch" and related to other words meaning 'witch', 'female demoness'.
This source defines pairikā as “sorceress, witch, or enchantress.” and lists possible etymologies as 'belonging to others, enemies' (think woman seduced away from someone else or maybe spoils of war), 'foreign women' (think spoils of war), 'fullness' (allusion to breasts?), 'demoness of fullness' (IDK, something interesting going on there but reminds me of the OT test of an adulteress), 'demons opposed to Fire, Water, Earth, Ox, and Plant' (think homewrecker), 'demoness of sensuality who steals and destroys' (homewrecker again), and various other uses involving demons (think succubus).
Remember, the traditional Hebrew concept (probably received from Mesopotamia) of concubine as a wife without marriage contract ? How would that happen? A wife is gotten by contractual agreement with the father. But a concubine, is seduced, no agreement, you just convince her to join you (or she convinces you to take her).
So, if you were the first wife and your husband brings in a second wife who is a pretty young thing that seduced your husband and convinced him to marry her, you might slander her as a witch (which I notice has near spelling to bitch all the way back to Old English). What is another word for witch?
Enchantress, which is a "witch/sorceress" or a "fascinating or beautiful woman".
This all gets back to the very very old ideas of romantic love and how it was often viewed negatively or as an uncontrolled, dangerous, or otherworldly thing. Think love potions, enchantments, cubids arrow, lovestruck and the like. I.e. A seductress. So again, a woman who stole your man's heart or maybe one who came in by romance/seduction and not by contract.
This is another way in which modern marriage (based on romance) is more like concubinage than historical marriage (usually by contract).
) is a tension or struggle that has been going on for a looooong time.
