hetaira

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A form of hetaera — A highly cultivated hired female companion who would entertain upper-class male clients and might perform sex acts for them.

OriginAncient Greek ἑταίρᾱ →
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Meanings

nounhetaira (plural hetairai or hetairas)

plural hetairai · plural hetairas

  1. alternativeAlternative form of hetaera.

    In one of the Greek satirist Lucian's Dialogues of Courtesans, a conversation takes place between the hetaira Tryphaena and a young client named Charmides.

    1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 129

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekἑταίρᾱ
  2. Englishhetaira

From Ancient Greek ἑταίρᾱ (hetaírā), feminine of ἑταῖρος (hetaîros, “companion”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Iraheta
Cite this entry
APA

hetaira. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hetaira

MLA

“hetaira.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hetaira. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hetaira,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hetaira.

Source: hetaira on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.