"houri" meaning in English

See houri in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈhʊəɹi/ Forms: houris [plural]
enPR: ho͝o′rē Rhymes: -ʊəɹi Etymology: From French houri, from Persian حوری (hurî), from Arabic حُورِيّ (ḥūriyy) and Arabic حُورِيَّة (ḥūriyya), adjective and feminine singulative of حُور (ḥūr) from Classical Arabic حُورٌ عِينٌ (ḥūrun ʕīnun, “fair maidens, black-eyed ones”). See أَحْوَر m (ʔaḥwar), حَوْرَاء f (ḥawrāʔ) for the base adjective. Etymology templates: {{bor|en|fr|houri}} French houri, {{der|en|fa|حوری|tr=hurî}} Persian حوری (hurî), {{der|en|ar|حُورِيّ}} Arabic حُورِيّ (ḥūriyy), {{der|en|ar|حُورِيَّة}} Arabic حُورِيَّة (ḥūriyya), {{root|en|ar|ح و ر}} Head templates: {{en-noun}} houri (plural houris)
  1. (Islam) A beautiful virgin girl supposed to dwell in Paradise for the enjoyment of the faithful. Categories (topical): Islam, Mythological creatures, People Translations ((Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin): حَوْرَاء (ḥawrāʔ) [feminine] (Arabic), хурия (hurija) [feminine] (Bulgarian), гу́рія (húrija) [feminine] (Carpathian Rusyn), hurí [feminine] (Catalan), 天女 (tiānnǚ) (Chinese Mandarin), 天仙 (tiānxiān) (Chinese Mandarin), huriska [feminine] (Czech), huri (Danish), hoeri [feminine] (Dutch), huuri (Finnish), houri [feminine] (French), Huri [feminine] (German), हूर (hūr) [feminine] (Hindi), uri [feminine] (Italian), フーリー (fūrī) (Japanese), 天女 (tennyo) (alt: てんにょ) (Japanese), хор (xor) (Kazakh), حوری (huri) (Persian), hurysa [feminine] (Polish), húri [feminine] (Portuguese), ਹੂਰ (hūr) [feminine] (Punjabi), гу́рия (gúrija) [feminine] (Russian), хурија [Cyrillic, feminine] (Serbo-Croatian), hurija [Roman, feminine] (Serbo-Croatian), huriska [feminine] (Slovak), hurija [feminine] (Slovene), huriska [feminine] (Slovene), hurí [feminine] (Spanish), huri (Swedish), huri (Turkish), ھۈر (hür) (Uyghur)
    Sense id: en-houri-en-noun-6orPxUbA Disambiguation of Mythological creatures: 54 46 Disambiguation of People: 99 1 Topics: Islam, lifestyle, religion Disambiguation of '(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin': 95 5
  2. (by extension) Any voluptuous, beautiful woman. Tags: broadly Categories (topical): Mythological creatures
    Sense id: en-houri-en-noun-OjmBx17I Disambiguation of Mythological creatures: 54 46 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 3 entries, Pages with entries, Terms with Arabic translations, Terms with Bulgarian translations, Terms with Carpathian Rusyn translations, Terms with Catalan translations, Terms with Czech translations, Terms with Danish translations, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Hindi translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Japanese translations, Terms with Kazakh translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Persian translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Punjabi translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations, Terms with Slovak translations, Terms with Slovene translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Terms with Turkish translations, Terms with Uyghur translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 29 71 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 22 78 Disambiguation of Pages with 3 entries: 8 22 7 24 8 22 5 2 2 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 5 24 5 29 5 25 4 1 2 Disambiguation of Terms with Arabic translations: 24 76 Disambiguation of Terms with Bulgarian translations: 30 70 Disambiguation of Terms with Carpathian Rusyn translations: 32 68 Disambiguation of Terms with Catalan translations: 32 68 Disambiguation of Terms with Czech translations: 39 61 Disambiguation of Terms with Danish translations: 21 79 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 16 84 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 25 75 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 21 79 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 17 83 Disambiguation of Terms with Hindi translations: 26 74 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 11 89 Disambiguation of Terms with Japanese translations: 11 89 Disambiguation of Terms with Kazakh translations: 34 66 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 30 70 Disambiguation of Terms with Persian translations: 31 69 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 30 70 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 34 66 Disambiguation of Terms with Punjabi translations: 25 75 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 11 89 Disambiguation of Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations: 33 67 Disambiguation of Terms with Slovak translations: 31 69 Disambiguation of Terms with Slovene translations: 34 66 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 13 87 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 29 71 Disambiguation of Terms with Turkish translations: 29 71 Disambiguation of Terms with Uyghur translations: 30 70

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "houri"
      },
      "expansion": "French houri",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fa",
        "3": "حوری",
        "tr": "hurî"
      },
      "expansion": "Persian حوری (hurî)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ar",
        "3": "حُورِيّ"
      },
      "expansion": "Arabic حُورِيّ (ḥūriyy)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ar",
        "3": "حُورِيَّة"
      },
      "expansion": "Arabic حُورِيَّة (ḥūriyya)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ar",
        "3": "ح و ر"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "root"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From French houri, from Persian حوری (hurî), from Arabic حُورِيّ (ḥūriyy) and Arabic حُورِيَّة (ḥūriyya), adjective and feminine singulative of حُور (ḥūr) from Classical Arabic حُورٌ عِينٌ (ḥūrun ʕīnun, “fair maidens, black-eyed ones”). See أَحْوَر m (ʔaḥwar), حَوْرَاء f (ḥawrāʔ) for the base adjective.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "houris",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "houri (plural houris)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Islam",
          "orig": "en:Islam",
          "parents": [
            "Abrahamism",
            "Religion",
            "Culture",
            "Society",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 46",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Mythological creatures",
          "orig": "en:Mythological creatures",
          "parents": [
            "Fantasy",
            "Mythology",
            "Fiction",
            "Speculative fiction",
            "Culture",
            "Artistic works",
            "Genres",
            "Society",
            "Art",
            "Entertainment",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "99 1",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "People",
          "orig": "en:People",
          "parents": [
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2002 January 12, Ibn Warraq, “Virgins? What virgins?”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "We cannot go into the technical details of his methodology but it allows Luxenberg, to the probable horror of all Muslim males dreaming of sexual bliss in the Muslim hereafter, to conjure away the wide-eyed houris promised to the faithful in suras XLIV.54; LII.20, LV.72, and LVI.22. Luxenberg's new analysis, leaning on the Hymns of Ephrem the Syrian, yields \"white raisins\" of \"crystal clarity\" rather than doe-eyed, and ever willing virgins - the houris.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009, Nerina Rustomji, The Garden and the Fire: Heaven and Hell in Islamic Culture, Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 114:",
          "text": "The repetition of material about the houri suggests that the popularization of that figure occurred as early as the ninth century and continued well into the twelfth century. By then, the houri had become a kind of metonymy for the Garden, as well as an accepted object. A new role of the houri as the superlative being of the Garden emerged through the use of traditions, and most of all the structure of the text. Al-Qadi's text provides an excellent example of the importance of the houri.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013, “What If…?”, in Still Smiling, performed by Teho Teardo and Blixa Bargeld:",
          "text": "What if in paradise there are no houris waiting? / What if but all you get are grapes, succulent grapes? / What if it's all just a mistake in the translation?",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2017, Matthew S. Gordon, Kathryn A. Hain, Concubines and Courtesans: Women and Slavery in Islamic History, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 274:",
          "text": "Although the beauty of houris is described in terms of cosmic pureness and sumptuary materials, the qiyan are understood through attributes and affects. Yet, the houris have one constitutive attribute. They are fair and they have big eyes. Is the houri based on any particular model of beauty or a kind of female slave? Ibn Butlan, in his Risalafi shira'al-raqiq wa-taqlib al-abid, offers a rubric for female slaves; however, the descriptions of houris do not align with other descriptions of slaves.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A beautiful virgin girl supposed to dwell in Paradise for the enjoyment of the faithful."
      ],
      "id": "en-houri-en-noun-6orPxUbA",
      "links": [
        [
          "virgin",
          "virgin"
        ],
        [
          "dwell",
          "dwell"
        ],
        [
          "Paradise",
          "Paradise"
        ],
        [
          "enjoyment",
          "enjoyment"
        ],
        [
          "faithful",
          "faithful"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Islam) A beautiful virgin girl supposed to dwell in Paradise for the enjoyment of the faithful."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "Islam",
        "lifestyle",
        "religion"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "ḥawrāʔ",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "حَوْرَاء"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "hurija",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "хурия"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "rue",
          "lang": "Carpathian Rusyn",
          "roman": "húrija",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "гу́рія"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "hurí"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "tiānnǚ",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "word": "天女"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "tiānxiān",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "word": "天仙"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "huriska"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "word": "huri"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "hoeri"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "word": "huuri"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "houri"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Huri"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "hi",
          "lang": "Hindi",
          "roman": "hūr",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "हूर"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "uri"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "fūrī",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "word": "フーリー"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "alt": "てんにょ",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "tennyo",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "word": "天女"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "kk",
          "lang": "Kazakh",
          "roman": "xor",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "word": "хор"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "fa",
          "lang": "Persian",
          "roman": "huri",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "word": "حوری"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "hurysa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "húri"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "pa",
          "lang": "Punjabi",
          "roman": "hūr",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "ਹੂਰ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "gúrija",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "гу́рия"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic",
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "хурија"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "Roman",
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "hurija"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "sk",
          "lang": "Slovak",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "huriska"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "sl",
          "lang": "Slovene",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "hurija"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "sl",
          "lang": "Slovene",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "huriska"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "hurí"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "word": "huri"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "word": "huri"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "code": "ug",
          "lang": "Uyghur",
          "roman": "hür",
          "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
          "word": "ھۈر"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "29 71",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "22 78",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "8 22 7 24 8 22 5 2 2",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 3 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "5 24 5 29 5 25 4 1 2",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "24 76",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Arabic translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "30 70",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "32 68",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Carpathian Rusyn translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "32 68",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Catalan translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "39 61",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Czech translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "21 79",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Danish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "16 84",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "25 75",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "21 79",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "17 83",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "26 74",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hindi translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 89",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 89",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Japanese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "34 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Kazakh translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "30 70",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "31 69",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Persian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "30 70",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "34 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "25 75",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Punjabi translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 89",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "33 67",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "31 69",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Slovak translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "34 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Slovene translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "13 87",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "29 71",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "29 71",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Turkish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "30 70",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Uyghur translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 46",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Mythological creatures",
          "orig": "en:Mythological creatures",
          "parents": [
            "Fantasy",
            "Mythology",
            "Fiction",
            "Speculative fiction",
            "Culture",
            "Artistic works",
            "Genres",
            "Society",
            "Art",
            "Entertainment",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter IX, in Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 242:",
          "text": "I would not exchange this one little English girl for the Grand Turk’s whole seraglio; gazelle-eyes, houri forms and all!",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 74, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:",
          "text": "“The town is full of temptations, sir,” continued Pen. The old gentleman thought of that houri, Mrs. O’Leary.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Any voluptuous, beautiful woman."
      ],
      "id": "en-houri-en-noun-OjmBx17I",
      "links": [
        [
          "voluptuous",
          "voluptuous"
        ],
        [
          "beautiful",
          "beautiful"
        ],
        [
          "woman",
          "woman"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension) Any voluptuous, beautiful woman."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "ho͝o′rē"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈhʊəɹi/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ʊəɹi"
    }
  ],
  "word": "houri"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms borrowed from French",
    "English terms derived from Arabic",
    "English terms derived from French",
    "English terms derived from Persian",
    "English terms derived from the Arabic root ح و ر",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 3 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ʊəɹi",
    "Rhymes:English/ʊəɹi/2 syllables",
    "Terms with Arabic translations",
    "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
    "Terms with Carpathian Rusyn translations",
    "Terms with Catalan translations",
    "Terms with Czech translations",
    "Terms with Danish translations",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Hindi translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Japanese translations",
    "Terms with Kazakh translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Persian translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Punjabi translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
    "Terms with Slovak translations",
    "Terms with Slovene translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "Terms with Turkish translations",
    "Terms with Uyghur translations",
    "en:Mythological creatures",
    "en:People"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "houri"
      },
      "expansion": "French houri",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fa",
        "3": "حوری",
        "tr": "hurî"
      },
      "expansion": "Persian حوری (hurî)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ar",
        "3": "حُورِيّ"
      },
      "expansion": "Arabic حُورِيّ (ḥūriyy)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ar",
        "3": "حُورِيَّة"
      },
      "expansion": "Arabic حُورِيَّة (ḥūriyya)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ar",
        "3": "ح و ر"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "root"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From French houri, from Persian حوری (hurî), from Arabic حُورِيّ (ḥūriyy) and Arabic حُورِيَّة (ḥūriyya), adjective and feminine singulative of حُور (ḥūr) from Classical Arabic حُورٌ عِينٌ (ḥūrun ʕīnun, “fair maidens, black-eyed ones”). See أَحْوَر m (ʔaḥwar), حَوْرَاء f (ḥawrāʔ) for the base adjective.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "houris",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "houri (plural houris)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "en:Islam"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2002 January 12, Ibn Warraq, “Virgins? What virgins?”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "We cannot go into the technical details of his methodology but it allows Luxenberg, to the probable horror of all Muslim males dreaming of sexual bliss in the Muslim hereafter, to conjure away the wide-eyed houris promised to the faithful in suras XLIV.54; LII.20, LV.72, and LVI.22. Luxenberg's new analysis, leaning on the Hymns of Ephrem the Syrian, yields \"white raisins\" of \"crystal clarity\" rather than doe-eyed, and ever willing virgins - the houris.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009, Nerina Rustomji, The Garden and the Fire: Heaven and Hell in Islamic Culture, Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 114:",
          "text": "The repetition of material about the houri suggests that the popularization of that figure occurred as early as the ninth century and continued well into the twelfth century. By then, the houri had become a kind of metonymy for the Garden, as well as an accepted object. A new role of the houri as the superlative being of the Garden emerged through the use of traditions, and most of all the structure of the text. Al-Qadi's text provides an excellent example of the importance of the houri.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013, “What If…?”, in Still Smiling, performed by Teho Teardo and Blixa Bargeld:",
          "text": "What if in paradise there are no houris waiting? / What if but all you get are grapes, succulent grapes? / What if it's all just a mistake in the translation?",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2017, Matthew S. Gordon, Kathryn A. Hain, Concubines and Courtesans: Women and Slavery in Islamic History, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 274:",
          "text": "Although the beauty of houris is described in terms of cosmic pureness and sumptuary materials, the qiyan are understood through attributes and affects. Yet, the houris have one constitutive attribute. They are fair and they have big eyes. Is the houri based on any particular model of beauty or a kind of female slave? Ibn Butlan, in his Risalafi shira'al-raqiq wa-taqlib al-abid, offers a rubric for female slaves; however, the descriptions of houris do not align with other descriptions of slaves.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A beautiful virgin girl supposed to dwell in Paradise for the enjoyment of the faithful."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "virgin",
          "virgin"
        ],
        [
          "dwell",
          "dwell"
        ],
        [
          "Paradise",
          "Paradise"
        ],
        [
          "enjoyment",
          "enjoyment"
        ],
        [
          "faithful",
          "faithful"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Islam) A beautiful virgin girl supposed to dwell in Paradise for the enjoyment of the faithful."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "Islam",
        "lifestyle",
        "religion"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter IX, in Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 242:",
          "text": "I would not exchange this one little English girl for the Grand Turk’s whole seraglio; gazelle-eyes, houri forms and all!",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 74, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:",
          "text": "“The town is full of temptations, sir,” continued Pen. The old gentleman thought of that houri, Mrs. O’Leary.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Any voluptuous, beautiful woman."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "voluptuous",
          "voluptuous"
        ],
        [
          "beautiful",
          "beautiful"
        ],
        [
          "woman",
          "woman"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension) Any voluptuous, beautiful woman."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "ho͝o′rē"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈhʊəɹi/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ʊəɹi"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "ḥawrāʔ",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "حَوْرَاء"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "hurija",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "хурия"
    },
    {
      "code": "rue",
      "lang": "Carpathian Rusyn",
      "roman": "húrija",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "гу́рія"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "hurí"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "tiānnǚ",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "word": "天女"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "tiānxiān",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "word": "天仙"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "huriska"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "word": "huri"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "hoeri"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "word": "huuri"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "houri"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Huri"
    },
    {
      "code": "hi",
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "roman": "hūr",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "हूर"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "uri"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "fūrī",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "word": "フーリー"
    },
    {
      "alt": "てんにょ",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "tennyo",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "word": "天女"
    },
    {
      "code": "kk",
      "lang": "Kazakh",
      "roman": "xor",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "word": "хор"
    },
    {
      "code": "fa",
      "lang": "Persian",
      "roman": "huri",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "word": "حوری"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "hurysa"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "húri"
    },
    {
      "code": "pa",
      "lang": "Punjabi",
      "roman": "hūr",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "ਹੂਰ"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "gúrija",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "гу́рия"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic",
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "хурија"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "Roman",
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "hurija"
    },
    {
      "code": "sk",
      "lang": "Slovak",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "huriska"
    },
    {
      "code": "sl",
      "lang": "Slovene",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "hurija"
    },
    {
      "code": "sl",
      "lang": "Slovene",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "huriska"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "hurí"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "word": "huri"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "word": "huri"
    },
    {
      "code": "ug",
      "lang": "Uyghur",
      "roman": "hür",
      "sense": "(Islam) a nymph in the form of a beautiful virgin",
      "word": "ھۈر"
    }
  ],
  "word": "houri"
}

Download raw JSONL data for houri meaning in English (10.6kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.