houri

(ho̵orē, ho̵u-)

noun pl. houris

  1. in Muslim belief, any of the beautiful nymphs of the Muslim Paradise
  2. a seductively beautiful woman

Origin: Fr < Pers ḥūri < Ar ḥūrīyah, black-eyed woman, ult. < ḥawira, to be dark-eyed

See houri in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. hou·ris
  1. A voluptuous, alluring woman.
  2. One of the beautiful virgins of the Koranic paradise.

Origin:

Origin: French

Origin: , from Persian ḥūrī

Origin: , from Arabic ḥūrīya, nymph, houri

Origin: , from ḥūr

Origin: , pl. of ’aḥwaru, feminine of ḥawrā’u

Origin: , possessing ḥawar, intense whiteness of the sclera contrasting with deep blackness of the iris of the eye; see ḥwr in Semitic roots

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