Oiran
/ˈɔɪɹən/ noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 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."
Example
More examples"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."
Etymology
From Japanese 花魁, literally ‘flower-leader’.