What does bawdyhouse mean?
A bawdyhouse is a house of prostitution — a premises where sexual services are sold. The term joins "bawdy," an adjective meaning lewd or indecent, with "house," and was a common English name for a brothel from roughly the sixteenth century onward. It appears frequently in legal records, court proceedings, and literature of the early modern period: magistrates licensed, raided, and suppressed bawdyhouses, and writers such as Shakespeare and his contemporaries referred to them freely in comedy and drama. Today the word is essentially archaic; modern English uses "brothel" as its standard, neutral-legal term, with "whorehouse" and "cathouse" serving as cruder colloquial alternatives. "Bawdyhouse" survives chiefly in historical writing and period fiction, where it lends authentic texture to descriptions of past centuries. Its connotations are invariably disapproving or salacious, reflecting long-standing social condemnation of commercial sex.
nounA building in which prostitutes work and sexual services are sold; a brothel.
- A house of prostitution; a brothel.
"In the seventeenth century the lane behind the docks was notorious for its bawdyhouses."
"The magistrate ordered that the bawdyhouse on Cooper Street be shut down at once."
"His memoir describes the sailors' quarter of the port city, crowded with taverns and bawdyhouses."
Standard plural formed by adding -es; used when referring to multiple such establishments, often in historical or legal contexts.
"The old maps mark several bawdyhouses clustered near the harbor."
Shakespeare's England had so many bawdyhouses that Southwark's stews were licensed by the Bishop of Winchester — which is why prostitutes there were nicknamed "Winchester geese."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bawdyhouse
The compound combines "house" with "bawdy," an adjective attested in Middle English (as "baudi") meaning joyous, lively, and later lewd or obscene. "Bawdy" itself likely derives from Old French "bau," "baud" (bold, merry), whose further origin remains uncertain. Compounds like "bawdyhouse" became common in English from around the sixteenth century, alongside the related noun "bawdry" meaning lewdness or prostitution. The word belongs to the same family as "bawd," an older term for a procurer or keeper of a brothel.
Related word forms
How bawdyhouse is actually used
"Bawdyhouse" is now largely historical or literary; modern usage overwhelmingly prefers "brothel." It carries a slightly archaic, period flavor suited to writing about earlier centuries. The word has always been pejorative in tone.
Easily confused with bawdyhouse
"Bawdy" is an adjective describing humor or speech that is indecent or lewd, while "bawdyhouse" is a noun denoting an actual establishment where prostitution takes place.
Despite the similar -house ending, a birdhouse is a small box for wild birds to nest in, whereas a bawdyhouse is a brothel.