noun
1.
a woman who maintains a brothel; madam.
2.
a prostitute.
3.
Archaic. a procuress.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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|
Link To bawd
00:10
Bawd
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
bawd (bɔːd) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a person who runs a brothel, esp a woman |
| 2. | a prostitute |
| [C14: shortened from Old French baudetrot, from baude feminine of baud merry + trot one who runs errands; compare Old High German bald | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
bawd
a complicated word of uncertain history. First attested late 15c., "lewd person" (of either sex; since c.1700 applied only to women), probably from baude-strote "procurer of prostitutes" (mid-14c.), which may be from M.E. bawde (adj.) "merry, joyous," from O.Fr. baud "gay, licentious" (from Frankish
bald "bold"). It would not be the first time a word meaning "joyous" had taken on a sexual sense. The sense evolution shading from "bold" to "lewd" is not difficult; cf. O.Fr. baudise "ardor, joy, elation, act of boldness, presumption;" baudie "elation, high spirits," fole baudie "bawdry, shamelessness." The O.Fr. word also is the source of Fr. baudet "donkey," in Picardy dialect "loose woman." The second element in baude-strote would be trot "one who runs errands," or Germanic *strutt (see strut). But OED doubts all this. There was an O.Fr. baudestrote, baudetrot of the same meaning (13c.), and this may be the direct source of M.E. baude-strote. The obsolete word bronstrops "procuress," frequently found in Middleton's comedies, probably is an alt. of baude-strote.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
They include source materials that exhibit low toxicity, low mobility in the environment, w are near health-bawd levels.
Such objections shall state specifically the facts and reasons upon which such objections are bawd.
Composite samples can be developed bawd on time or flow rate.
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