bawd

== English == === Alternative forms === baud baude === 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. === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /bɔːd/ (US) enPR: bôd, IPA(key): /bɔd/ (cot–caught merger) IPA(key): /bɑd/ Rhymes: -ɔːd Homophones: baud; board, bored (non-rhotic) === Noun === bawd (plural bawds) (archaic or historical) One who keeps a brothel, or procures women for prostitution; a procurer or madam. (obsolete, by extension) A person who facilitates an immoral act, especially one of a sexual nature. A lewd person. ==== Synonyms ==== brothelkeeper pimp procurer procuress ==== Derived terms ==== === Adjective === bawd (comparative more bawd, superlative most bawd) (obsolete) Joyous; riotously gay. === Verb === bawd (third-person singular simple present bawds, present participle bawding, simple past and past participle bawded) (archaic) To procure women for lewd purposes. === Anagrams === BWAD, dawb == Welsh == === Etymology === From Middle Welsh mawd, from Proto-Celtic *mā-to-, from Proto-Indo-European *mē-. Compare Breton meud and Cornish meus. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈbau̯d/ === Noun === bawd m or f (plural bodiau) thumb big toe claw (of crab or lobster) (in slate quarrying) a flaw or crack in the slate Synonyms: crych, las, bachiad a bar projecting from rock face to which ropes are attached (of a railway or tramway) points, turnouts === Mutation ===