brothel
Use Brothel in a sentence
əl, ˈbrɒð-, ˈbrɔ noun
a house of prostitution.
Origin:
1350–1400 for earlier sense; short for brothel-house whore-house; Middle English brothel harlot, orig. worthless person, equivalent to broth- (past participle stem of brethen, Old English brēothan to decay, degenerate) + -el noun suffix
1350–1400 for earlier sense; short for brothel-house whore-house; Middle English brothel harlot, orig. worthless person, equivalent to broth- (past participle stem of brethen, Old English brēothan to decay, degenerate) + -el noun suffix
Related forms
broth·el·like, adjective
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 brothel
Collins
World English Dictionary
brothel (ˈbrɒθəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a house or other place where men pay to have sexual intercourse with prostitutes |
| 2. | informal (Austral) any untidy or messy place |
| [C16: short for brothel-house, from C14 brothel useless person, from Old English brēothan to deteriorate; related to briethel worthless] | |
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
00:10
Brothel
is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
brothel
"bawdy house," 1590s, shortened from brothel-house, from brothel "prostitute" (late 15c.), earlier "vile, worthless person" of either sex (14c.), from O.E. broðen pp. of breoðan "deteriorate, go to ruin," from P.Gmc. *breuthanan, var. of *breutanan "to break" (cf.
brittle). In 16c. brothel-house was confused with unrelated bordel (see bordello) and shifted meaning from a person to a place.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
He offered to fund a brothel on the same basis, and when that was rejected, he resigned.
The naturalists delighted in description of vice and disease, the dramshop, the hospital and the brothel.
In addition, there are four bars, four pool halls and possible plans for a brothel.
She worries about the police because she runs a brothel.
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