gynaeceum

Noun

gynaeceum (plural gynaeceums or gynaecea)

1. (Ancient-Rome, Ancient Greece) The women's quarters in a household; (hence, loosely) any building or area for women.
   • A master, however this may be, was very jealous of the inmates of his gyneceum, and he permitted no one to enter the place, which was protected as a sanctuary in the legislation of the Barbarians.1926, PL Jacob, History of Prostitution, page 249
   • It was agreeable to see men, after days in this gyneceum, bringing the place to life, to see waiters speeding to their command.1984, Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac, Penguin, published 2016, page 61

   Synonyms:

   gynaeconitis

2. (obsolete) An establishment in Rome where female workers made clothing and furniture for royalty.
3. A gynoecium.
   • The androecium functions by providing the pollen-grains which are necessary to bring about fertilisation of the ovules in the gynaeceum.1929, Arthur Henry Reginald Buller, Practical Botany, page 205