Magdalen

Variant of Magdalene

noun

  1. a feminine name: dim. Lena; var. Madeline, Madelyn
  2. Bible Mary Magdalene: Luke 8:2 (identified with the repentant woman in Luke 7:37)
  3. Archaic a reformed and repentant prostitute
  4. Brit., Archaic a reformatory for prostitutes

Origin: LL(Ec) < Gr(Ec) Magdalēne, lit., of Magdala, after Magdala, town on the Sea of Galilee

Also Magdalen
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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