An odalisque was a female slave or concubine in the harem of the Turkish sultan. The origin of the word appears to be French, from the Turkish odaliq, meaning a chambermaid, from oda, a chamber or room. The word is also written as odahlic, odalisk, and odalik.
The word has also been used loosely to mean a mistress, concubine or paramour of a wealthy man.
The odalisque was a common 19th century Western fantasy figure in the artistic movement known as Orientalism, and features in many erotic paintings from that era.
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