odalisques

Noun

odalisque (plural odalisques)

1. (historical) A female slave in a harem, especially one in the Ottoman seraglio.
   • When the young Mauretanians were his guests in the little houses before the town gates, and he was of a good humour, it would come about that he displayed his odalisques as others would their jewels.1947 [1939], Ernst Jünger, translated by Stuart Hood, On the Marble Cliffs, New Directions, translation of Auf den Marmorklippen (in German), →LCCN, →OCLC, page 12
2. An erotic painting of a woman, usually nude, reclining in a luxurious or exotic setting.
   • Three years later, she added three more odalisques to her collection. Among the works she purchased in 1937 was an ink study that gave her insight into one stage in the evolution of the 1928 painting.2016 May 19, K. Porter Aichele, Modern Art on Display: The Legacies of Six Collectors, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, →ISBN, page 153
3. A desirable or sexually attractive woman.