What's the difference between concubine and handmaid?

Concubine


Definition:

  • (n.) A woman who cohabits with a man without being his wife; a paramour.
  • (n.) A wife of inferior condition; a lawful wife, but not united to the man by the usual ceremonies, and of inferior condition. Such were Hagar and Keturah, the concubines of Abraham; and such concubines were allowed by the Roman laws. Their children were not heirs of their father.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Carwyn Jones will remain first minister but his anointment threatened to be overshadowed by a sexism row after Ukip’s leader at the assembly, the former Tory MP Neil Hamilton , branded two senior female assembly members “political concubines” and called Plaid a “cheap date”.
  • (2) Winnie, meanwhile, raged ineffectually against the emotional cunning of the woman she called "that concubine".
  • (3) Abraham had only two concubines, where Solomon had 300, along with his 700 wives.
  • (4) Of the non-English language films that have won the Palme d'Or since 1990, only Amour has won the Academy award, while Farewell My Concubine , The Class and The White Ribbon have achieved a shortlist nomination.
  • (5) His mother had distant aristocratic origins, being descended from one of the sultan of Jogjakarta's concubines some generations back.
  • (6) The Old Testament is replete with stories of men like King Solomon who had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
  • (7) He is best known for a 1968 historical drama called The Eunuch, about concubines and emasculated servants unable to consummate their secret love.
  • (8) One should remember that enslaving the families of the kuffar [non-believers] and taking their women as concubines is a firmly established aspect of Islamic law,” the article said.
  • (9) If he pays her father to take her away, she is his concubine.
  • (10) Was Ramsay Snow’s concubine running away from a pack of slavering dogs or Iwan’s album listening party?
  • (11) 59% of the patients were between 20 and 29 years old (Table 1) and 74% were married (only 23 of these did not share their husbands with other wives or concubines) (Table 2).
  • (12) Responding to a tide of online criticism about his slave comments, Muthana wrote: "When I spoke about slave everyone jumped on me muslims and non muslims alike … so I stayed quiet and will stay quiet but everyone will soon find out when I get my own concubines lool, slave markets are on full blast."
  • (13) For slaves, concubines, gold and castles of ancient and medieval times, read private jets, holiday islands and football and baseball clubs of the contemporary era.
  • (14) Anti-government rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army in the most northerly districts of Uganda swept along and across it, fighting and stealing children - boys for soldiers and girls for concubines.
  • (15) The Chinese were the 1st to record the practice of induced abortion, with this operation being administered to royal concubines recorded at 500-515 B.C.
  • (16) A few weeks later an Isis pamphlet detailed how followers should treat these “concubines”, with special reference to virgins and underage girls.
  • (17) Pretty girls were often forcibly taken as wives or concubines.
  • (18) The award-winning films that heralded its 1990s renaissance, such as Zhang Yimou's Raise the Red Lantern and Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine, were banned in China.
  • (19) In this drama centered on the concubines of a Liberian rebel commander, making its New York debut at the Public Theatre, Lupita Nyong’o of 12 Years a Slave plays the newest abducted “wife”.
  • (20) There are other spots worth visiting outside the centre; notably the exquisitely glazed 17th-century Abak Khoja Mausoleum, also known as the Tomb of the Fragrant Concubine in honour of a consort of Emperor Qianlong.

Handmaid


Definition:

  • (n.) Alt. of Handmaiden

Example Sentences:

  • (1) What goes on in The Handmaid’s Tale [the overthrow of the US government by a theocratic dictatorship that suppresses the rights of women] is actually confined to what used to be the United States.
  • (2) To those of us who work to protect women’s freedoms this case feels like the early days of The Handmaid’s Tale: the temperature in the bathtub is rising swiftly and silently.
  • (3) I was perhaps too optimistic to end the Handmaid's story with an outright failure.
  • (4) To quote The Handmaid’s Tale : “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
  • (5) Morally provocative and darkly funny with plenty of sex (including some fashionable sadomasochism), the series will be lapped up by fans of The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake .
  • (6) The Handmaid’s Tale neatly set my world on its head.
  • (7) The Handmaid's Tale has often been called a "feminist dystopia", but that term is not strictly accurate.
  • (8) Sarah: I read Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale at 19, struggling through my second year at a conservative Baptist college.
  • (9) Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale seems to have moved from fiction to prophecy, with news of a court case in England that could lead to the prosecution of women who drink alcohol while pregnant.
  • (10) The Handmaids themselves are a pariah caste within the pyramid: treasured for what they may be able to provide – their fertility – but untouchables otherwise.
  • (11) The Handmaid's Tale is reissued this month by the Folio Society
  • (12) No, this is not The Handmaid’s Tale , we are told, in a “ calm down, dear ” sort of way, and we should merely accept the DUP’s mix of creationism, misogyny and homophobia as a quirk of coalition.
  • (13) People – not only women – have sent me photographs of their bodies with phrases from The Handmaid's Tale tattooed on them, " Nolite te bastardes carborundorum " and "Are there any questions?"
  • (14) When asked whether The Handmaid's Tale is about to "come true", I remind myself that there are two futures in the book, and that if the first one comes true, the second one may do so also.
  • (15) The Handmaid's Tale has not been out of print since it was first published, back in 1985.
  • (16) On 10 June there is a cryptic entry: "Finished editing Handmaid's Tale last week."
  • (17) Stories about the future always have a "what-if" premise, and The Handmaid's Tale has several.
  • (18) In fact, in The Handmaid’s Tale , England is the country of choice where escaped women want to go.
  • (19) It has become a sort of tag for those writing about shifts towards policies aimed at controlling women, and especially women's bodies and reproductive functions: "Like something out of The Handmaid's Tale " and "Here comes The Handmaid's Tale " have become familiar phrases.
  • (20) Photograph: PR Ma’ Rosa (Brillante Mendoza, Philippines) Bacalaureat (Cristian Mungiu, Romania) Loving (Jeff Nichols, US) The Handmaid (Park Chan-wook, South Korea) The Last Face (Sean Penn, US) Sieranevada (Cristi Puiu, Romania) Elle (Paul Verhoeven, France) The Neon Demon (Nicolas Winding Refn, US) Out of competition Facebook Twitter Pinterest Steven Spielberg’s The BFG.

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