odalisque

Where does the word "odalisque" come from? It comes from Ottoman Turkish odalık, passing through French before entering English (1800s).

Odalisque’s story begins in Ottoman Turkish: odalık meant “a chambermaid in a harem.” Literally "chambermaid", from "oda" (room). By 1700s, the word had taken hold in French as odalisque. Romanticized in European art and literature about the Ottoman court. It reached English by 1800s as odalisque. Ingres's 1814 painting 'Grande Odalisque' made the subject famous in European art. Today, odalisque means historically, a female slave or concubine in a harem; a common subject in 19th-century art.

1. Stage 1 · Ottoman Turkish · medieval odalık "a chambermaid in a harem", literally "chambermaid", from "oda" (room).
2. Stage 2 · French · 1700s odalisque "a harem woman, a subject of Orientalist art", romanticized in European art and literature about the Ottoman court.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1800s odalisque "a woman in a harem, especially in art", Ingres's 1814 painting 'Grande Odalisque' made the subject famous in European art.