oiran

O1I1R1A1N1
/ˈɔɪɹən/

noun

A high-status courtesan in Japan.

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Meanings

nounoiran (plural oiran or oirans)

plural oirans

  1. A high-status courtesan in Japan.

    The oiran of Mitarai was not like the geisha. Like the great eighteenth-century courtesans of Europe, she knew who and what she was and turned wanton provocation into an art.

    2002, Donald Richie, The Inland Sea, Stone Bridge Press, page 192

Origin

From Japanese 花魁, literally ‘flower-leader’.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Turkish oiran
  • oiranoiran

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

arionnoriaraionOraniRoniaRiano
Cite this entry
APA

oiran. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oiran

MLA

“oiran.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oiran. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oiran,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oiran.

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