Meaning & use
Bawd
Last updated
A woman who keeps a brothel or procures prostitutes; more loosely, a person associated with bawdy or lewd conduct.
See it in a sentence
In the play, the bawd schemes to profit from the young couple's secret romance.
Historical court records occasionally mention a bawd being fined for running a disorderly house.
A note on using this word
"Bawd" is chiefly a literary and historical term today, appearing often in Shakespearean and Restoration drama; "bawdy," meaning humorously indecent, derives from it.
Words with a similar meaning
madamprocuress
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