hetaera
noun/hɪˈtɪəɹə/ · /hɪˈtaɪɹə/
Etymology From Ancient Greek ἑταίρᾱ (hetaírā), feminine of ἑταῖρος (hetaîros, “companion”).
1
Historical A highly cultivated hired female companion who would entertain upper-class male clients and might perform sex acts for them.
- But of course our friend is only a shallow twentieth-century reproduction of the great hetairae of the past, the type to which she belongs without knowing it, Lais, Charis and the rest...1957, Lawrence Durrell, Justine:
2
A mistress.
- Woman is dethroned as the primary and supreme sex, debased into inseminable hetaera.1971, Gottfried Benn, E. B. Ashton, Primal vision: selected writings:
- Christ appeared, only to reveal himself as the naked god Pan. Ballet of hetaerae and houris, choreography by Italo Castaldi.1980, Anthony Burgess, Earthly Powers:
- Derived terms
- hetaeric