The cohabiting of a man and a woman who are not legally married; the state of being a concubine.

A plea, in which it is alleged that the woman suing for dower was not lawfully married to the man in whose lands she seeks to be endowed, but that she was his concubine.

cohabitation of persons not legally married; 2: the state of being a concubine; 3: the relationship between persons who are cohabiting without the benefit of marriage - used esp. in the civil law of states. (Under many state laws, concubinage does not give rise to any rights in the parties to each other's property).

cohabitation without being legally married

Living together or cohabiting without the authority of marriage.

Concubinage refers to the state of a woman or youth in an ongoing, quasi-matrimonial relationship with a man of higher social status. Typically, the man has an official wife in addition to one or more concubines. Concubines have limited rights of support as against the man, and their offspring are publicly acknowledged as the man's children, albeit of lower status than children born by the official wife or wives.