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bawd

American  
[bawd] / bɔd /

noun

Archaic.

  1. a woman who maintains a brothel; madam.

  2. a prostitute.

  3. a procuress.

bawd British  
/ bɔːd /

noun

  1. a person who runs a brothel, esp a woman

  2. a prostitute

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bawd

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English bawde, noun use of Middle French baude, feminine of baud “jolly, dissolute,” from West Germanic; compare Old English bald bold

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.