(especially during the last half of the 19th century) a class of women who have lost their standing in respectable society because of indiscreet behavior or sexual promiscuity.
2.
a demimondaine.
3.
prostitutes or courtesans in general.
4.
a group whose activities are ethically or legally questionable: a demimonde of investigative journalists writing for the sensationalist tabloids.
5.
a group characterized by lack of success or status: the literary demimonde.
Origin: 1850–55; < French, equivalent to demi-demi- + monde world (< Latin mundus)