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A.Word.A.Day--houri houri (HOOR-ee) noun 1. One of the beautiful virgins provided for faithful Muslims in the Koranic paradise. 2. A voluptuously attractive young woman. [From French, from Persian huri, from Arabic huri, plural of haura (dark-eyed woman).] "Corn and kitsch mesh seamlessly with art and virtuosity. Suspended from a swinging chandelier, a voluptuous houri, trailing clouds of veils, undulates to the music of the Ave Maria -- with a disco tom-tom backbeat." Howard G. Ghua-Eoan, The Moscow Circus Returns, Time (New York), Sep 19, 1988. This week's theme: words having origins in Arabic. X-Bonus Liberty is given by nature even to mute animals. -Publius Cornelius Tacitus, historian (55-117)

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