bawdy
pronunciation
How to pronounce bawdy in British English:
UK [ˈbɔ:di]
How to pronounce bawdy in American English:
US [ˈbɔdi]
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- Noun:
- lewd or obscene talk or writing
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- Adjective:
- humorously vulgar
Word Origin
- bawdy
- bawdy: [15] The adjective bawdy appears on the scene relatively late, but it is a derivative of bawd ‘prostitute’ or ‘madam’, which entered English in the 14th century. Its origins are not altogether clear, but it appears to have come from the Old French adjective baud ‘lively, merry, bold’, which in turn was probably acquired from Germanic *bald-, source of English bold.=> bold
- bawdy (adj.)
- late 14c., "soiled, dirty, filthy," from bawd + -y (2). Meaning "lewd" is from 1510s, from notion of "pertaining to or befitting a bawd;" usually of language (originally to talk bawdy). Bawdy Basket, the twenty-third rank of canters, who carry pins, tape, ballads and obscene books to sell. [Grose, "Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1785] Related: Bawdily; bawdiness.
Example
- 1. To our embarrassment he started singing bawdy songs .
- 2. A bawdy house is a haben of refuge affer dis house of hell .
- 3. Why not something bawdy ? People like it better .
- 4. And you have to sing these bawdy songs .
- 5. It was a bawdy page-turner : the protagonist , chen zhong , an employee at an automobile oil and parts company , regularly engages in bribery and adultery .