bawd Hear it!

bawd definition

bawd (bôd)

noun

  1. Literary a person, now esp. a woman, who keeps a brothel; madam
  2. Rare a prostitute

Etymology: ME baude, lewd person < ? OFr baud, merry, licentious (< Frank bald, bold) > Fr baudet, donkey, also (in Picardy) loose woman

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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