concubinageCONCUBINAGE, n. [See Concubine.] The act or practice of cohabiting, as man and woman, in sexual commerce, without the authority of law, or a legal marriage. In a more general sense, this word is used to express any criminal or prohibited sexual commerce, including adultery, incest, and fornication. In some countries, concubinage is a marriage of an inferior kind, or performed with less solemnity than a true or formal marriage; or marriage with a woman of inferior condition, to whom the husband does not convey his rank or quality. This is said to be still in use in Germany. |