zenana

American  

[zuh-nah-nuh] / zəˈnɑ nə /

Or zanana

noun

1. the part of the house in which the women and girls of a family are secluded.

2. its occupants collectively.

---

zenana British  

/ zɛˈnɑːnə /

noun

1. (in the East, esp in Muslim and Hindu homes) part of a house reserved for the women and girls of a household

---

Etymology

Origin of zenana

First recorded in 1755–65; from Hindi, from Persian zanāna, “female, pertaining to women,” adjective derivative of zan “woman”; cognate with Sanskrit jani “woman, wife,” Greek gynḗ, Old Church Slavonic žena, Old English cwēn “woman, wife”; see queen

Example Sentences

The buzzing sound of UAVs has been ubiquitous in Gaza since 2006, and drones are called zenana, an Arabic word referring to the sound using the slang term for a nagging wife.

From Salon • Nov. 11, 2024

It was when he went into the zenana.

From Among the Wild Tribes of the Afghan Frontier A Record of Sixteen Years' Close Intercourse with the Natives of the Indian Marches by Pennell, T. L. (Theodore Leighton)

It will be your voice and not our sister's that will hold the attention of the zenana.

From The Outcaste by Penny, F. E.

The rajah receives the utterpan from his wife, of whom he may demand that the rose-water perfuming be performed in the zenana.

From Told by the Death's Head A Romantic Tale by J?kai, M?r

The zenana is that portion of the palace which only the rajah and his wives may enter.

From Told by the Death's Head A Romantic Tale by J?kai, M?r