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o·da·lisque also o·da·lisk

(ōdə-lĭsk′)

1. A woman slave in a harem.

2. An artistic representation, often highly eroticized, of such a slave.

[French, from alteration of Turkish odalık, chambermaid, female slave attending women of the harem : oda, room (from Old Turkic otāǧ, tent, temporary dwellling of nomads, probably originally meaning "place where a fire is lit" and akin to ōt, fire) + -lık, suff. expressing function.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

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Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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