Bawd
adj, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 One who keeps a brothel, or procures women for prostitution; a procurer or madam. archaic, historical
"Of late in the Park, a fair fancy was seen / Betwixt an old Baud and a lusty young Quean, / Their parting of Money began the uproar, / I'll have half says the Baud, but you shan't says the Whore"
- 2 a woman who engages in sexual intercourse for money wordnet
- 3 A person who facilitates an immoral act, especially one of a sexual nature. broadly, obsolete
"In ſaying this thou wrongſt me Gaueſton, / Iſt not enough that thou corrupts my Lord, / And art a Bawd to his affections, / But thou muſt call mine honour thus in queſtion?"
- 4 A lewd person.
- 1 To procure women for lewd purposes. archaic
- 1 Joyous; riotously gay. obsolete
Example
More examples"Of late in the Park, a fair fancy was seen / Betwixt an old Baud and a lusty young Quean, / Their parting of Money began the uproar, / I'll have half says the Baud, but you shan't says the Whore"
Etymology
From Middle English bawde, baude, from Old French baud (“bold, lively, jolly, gay”). Doublet of bold. An association with Welsh bawddyn (“dirty fellow, scoundrel”), from baw (“dirt”), was suggested by the Rev. Henry Todd.
Related phrases
More for "bawd"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.