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hierodule love

hierodule

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A slave serving in an ancient temple, as in Greece or Anatolia, in the service of a specific deity.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In Greek antiquity, a slave dedicated to the service of a divinity; a temple servant or attendant.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun in Ancient Greece A temple slave, often one performing religious prostitution.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin hierodūlus, from Greek hierodoulos : hieron, temple (from neuter of hieros, holy; see eis- in Indo-European roots) + doulos, slave.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek ἱερόδουλος (hierodoulos), from ἱερός (hieros, "sacred") + δοῦλος (doulos, "slave").

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Examples

  • Zubaidit, female hierodule & spy, who through her fearless zeal has managed to penetrate the enemy forces & is working hard at fulfilling her mission.

    “Traitors' Gate” by Kate Elliott with Bonus Q/A with the Author (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo) Liviu 2009

  • A hierodule acting on behalf of the temple freed him, although then the council pretended they had done so to curry favor with us, as a sign of good faith.

    Spirit Gate 2006

  • I'm not some vain hierodule who serves the goddess for a year in order to have men drunk on wine and fumes worship her as if she was the Merciless One herself.

    Spirit Gate 2006

  • Set the hierodule on her road, to eliminate the imprisoned reeve.

    Spirit Gate 2006

  • If you are familiar with old timey words, you can usually figure out what something is from its name, for instance, hierodule.

    SCiFi Chat Transcript - Gene Wolfe 2004

  • "Her purchase price, and the usual debits for lodging, drink and food, clothing, training as a hierodule."

    Spirit Gate 2006

  • "Before they found you, the troop was met by a reeve who was carrying a hierodule who said you are her slave."

    Spirit Gate 2006

  • "Be sure that if I ever have a chance to repay you for taking from me my most valuable hierodule, I will do so swiftly and with pleasure."

    Spirit Gate 2006

  • If she really were a hierodule operating in the patriarchal would of judaism she would inevitably but thought of as a moral outcast.

    The Templar Revelation Lynn Picknett 2004

  • Significantly, the original word for such a priestess is hierodule, which means ‘sacred servant’16; the word ‘prostitute’, with all its implied moral judgement, was a Victorian rendering.

    The Templar Revelation Lynn Picknett 2004

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