The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

houri

SYLLABICATION: hou·ri
PRONUNCIATION: hr, hr
NOUN: Inflected forms: pl. hou·ris
1. A voluptuous, alluring woman. 2. One of the beautiful virgins of the Koranic paradise.
ETYMOLOGY: French, from Persian r, from Arabic rya, nymph, houri, from r, pl. of ’awaru, feminine of awr’u, possessing awar, intense whiteness of the sclera contrasting with deep blackness of the iris of the eye. See wr in Appendix II.