What is "harem"

Harem \Ha"rem\ (h[=a]"r[e^]m; 277), n.[Ar. haram, orig., anything forbidden or sacred, fr. harama to forbid, prohibit.] [Written also haram and hareem.]

1. The apartments or portion of the house allotted to females in Mohammedan families.

2. The family of wives and concubines belonging to one man, in Mohammedan countries; a seraglio.

1630s, from Turkish harem, from Arabic haram "wives and concubines," originally "women's quarters," literally "something forbidden or kept safe," from root of harama "he guarded, forbade."

n. 1 The private part of an Arab household. In traditional Arab culture, this part of the household was forbidden to male strangers. 2 A group of women, wives and/or concubines in a polygamous household. 3 A group of female animals (cows) herded and controlled by a male animal (bull) of that species for breeding purposes. Such behaviour is exhibited by bovids including cattle and buffalo as well as moose, elephants, seals, sea lions, sea elephants. 4 (lb en slang) Any significant number of women together as a group; bevy. 5 A genre of anime and manga in which a man is the love interest of three or more members of the opposing sex.

n. living quarters reserved for wives and concubines and female relatives in a Muslim household [syn: hareem, seraglio, serail]

A harem is the part of the household forbidden to men (outside the immediate family)

Harem may also refer to:

• Imperial Harem, a part of the Ottoman Sultan's court in the Seraglio palace of Topkapı
• Polygyny, a form of marriage in which a man has two or more wives at the same time
• Harem (zoology), animal polygyny

in anime and manga is an emphasis on polygamous or love triangle relationships characterized by a protagonist surrounded amorously by three or more members of either the same and/or opposing gender, sex, and/or love interests. When it is a yuri or male-hetero oriented harem series, the polygynous relationship is informally referred to as a or . When it is a yaoi or female-hetero oriented harem series, the polyandrous relationship is informally referred to as a , , or .

A harem is an animal group consisting of one or two males, a number of females and their offspring. The dominant male drives off other males and maintains the unity of the group. If present, the second male is subservient to the dominant male. As juvenile males grow, they leave the group and roam as solitary individuals or join bachelor herds. Females in the group may be inter-related. The dominant male mates with the females as they become sexually active and drives off competitors, until he is displaced by another male. In some species, incoming males that achieve dominant status may commit infanticide.

For the male, the main benefits of the harem system is obtaining exclusive access to a group of mature females. The females benefit from being in a stable social group and the associated benefits of grooming, predator avoidance and cooperative defense of territory. The disadvantages for the male are the energetic costs of gaining or defending a harem which may leave him with reduced reproductive success. The females are disadvantage if their offspring are killed during dominance battles or by incoming males.

Harem (, Turkish, from ḥaram "forbidden place; sacrosanct, sanctum", related to ḥarīm, "a sacred inviolable place; female members of the family" and ḥarām, "forbidden; sacred") refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men. The term originated in the Middle East. Harems can be composed of a sultan's mother, sister, children, wives and concubines. The South Asian equivalent for those that practice purdah is known as zenana.

Harem is a 1985 French romantic drama directed by Arthur Joffé. It was filmed in Morocco, particularly El Jadida.

Harem was a Norwegian reality TV series that aired on TV3, hosted by Mia Gundersen. The production company was Strix Televisjon AS. Four women got to choose between 18 men. The men who didn't get chosen, had to go home. The series was shot in the Maldives. The series premiered on 4 October 2001 and had only one season. There was also a Danish version and a Swedish version.

Harem (Հարեմ harem) is an 1874 Armenian language novel by the novelist Raffi. The reaction of Persian conservatives to the novel caused Raffi to withdraw from teaching in Agulis and return to Tiflis.

Harem is the eighth studio album by English singer and songwriter Sarah Brightman, released in the United States on 10 June 2003 through Angel Records. The album continued the collaboration between Brightman and her longtime producer Frank Peterson.

Although it has an inclination towards her signature operatic performance, the album encompasses dance-oriented and uptempo styles in keeping with a celebratory motif. In contrast to the classical crossover music style that framed her previous releases, Harem showcases a wider range of genres, exploring World music-related styles, such as Arabic and Indian music.

Harem received generally positive reviews. The Arabian-flavoured album was commercially well received in certain territories. It became Brightman's first top 10 album ever in Japan and debuted in Canada at No. 7. It topped the US Top Classical Albums chart for seven consecutive weeks. With Harem, Brightman became the only artist ever to have simultaneously held the No. 1 spot in Billboards Classical and Dance charts.

Following the release of Harem, Brightman launched the Harem World Tour, followed by the Harem: a Desert Fantasy and The Harem World Tour: Live from Las Vegas DVDs.

"Harem (Canção Do Mar)" was a single released by Classical cross-over artist Sarah Brightman on November 4, 2003 . This was the first single taken from her 2003 album of the same name. "Harem" ranked #1 on the Billboard dance/club charts. The original version of "Canção do Mar" was performed by Amália Rodrigues in 1955. The song would later be recorded by Valentina Félix on her album of the same name, and by Dulce Pontes for the 1996 movie Primal Fear, starring Richard Gere. There are at least six more versions of "Canção do Mar": "Oye Mar" by Chayanne, and a second version by Chenoa, "Elle tu l'aimes" by Hélène Ségara, "Das Ja Zum Leben" by Milva, "Ftes esi" by Mando, and "Bargard Be Man" by Shani Rigsbee.