What does bawd mean?
A bawd is a person who manages prostitutes or arranges sexual assignations for others — in effect, a brothel-keeper or procurer. Historically the word was applied to both men and women, though it is especially associated with women who ran "disorderly houses" in early modern England. Today "bawd" survives chiefly as a literary and historical term: readers encounter it in Shakespeare, Restoration comedy, and accounts of Tudor and Stuart urban life, where bawds figure as colorful, morally compromised characters. The word carries strongly negative connotations of vice and exploitation. Its most living descendant is the adjective "bawdy," describing humor, speech, or behavior that is indecent or sexually risqué — a sense familiar from Chaucer to modern comedy. Though rare in everyday conversation, the word remains useful for anyone reading early English literature or discussing the history of sexuality and the sex trade with precision.
nounA person who manages prostitutes or arranges sexual liaisons for others, historically often a woman; a madam or procurer.
- A person who keeps a brothel or manages prostitutes; a madam.
- A person who arranges illicit sexual encounters for others; a procurer or procurer's agent.
"In Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, Mistress Overdone runs a brothel as the play's resident bawd."
"The old woman was known throughout the quarter as the most notorious bawd in the city."
"Pompey the clown serves as apprentice to a bawd in Measure for Measure, helping run her disorderly house."
Standard regular plural.
"The play's cast includes two aging bawds and their hapless servants."
Shakespeare's plays are full of bawds — and the adjective "bawdy," meaning ribald or obscene, comes straight from them.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bawd
The origin of "bawd" is uncertain, though it appeared in English by the late Middle Ages. It is often connected to Old French "baud," meaning "bold, lively, merry," suggesting an original association with licentious merriment, but this link is not firmly established. By the sixteenth century it was well established as a term for brothel-keepers and procurers, flourishing in Elizabethan drama. Its derivative "bawdy," meaning indecent or lewd, became firmly rooted in English and remains the word's most common legacy.
Related word forms
How bawd is actually used
Largely literary and historical today, appearing mainly in discussions of Renaissance drama and early modern social history. The term is strongly pejorative and archaic in flavor; modern usage favors "madam," "pimp," or "trafficker." Often encountered through its derivative "bawdy," which remains current for humor or language that is indecent or risqué.
Easily confused with bawd
"Board" means a flat piece of wood or a group that governs an organization, whereas "bawd" refers to a person who manages prostitutes — they are near-homophones in some accents but entirely unrelated.