Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CON'CU-BINE, n. [Fr. from L. concubina, from concumbo, to lie together; con and cumbo, or cubo, to lie down.]

1. A woman who cohabits with a man, without the authority of a legal marriage; a woman kept for lewd purposes; a kept mistress. – Bacon. Shak. Dryden.
2. A wife of inferior condition; a lawful wife, but not united to the man by the usual ceremonies, and of inferior condition. Such were Hagar and Keturah, the concubines of Abraham; and such concubines were allowed by the Roman laws. – Encyc. Cruden.