gynaeceums

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

   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