brothel

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɔθəl/, /ˈbɹɔðəl/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɒθəl/, (obsolete) /ˈbɹɒðəl/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɑθəl/, /ˈbɹɑðəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒθəl, -ɒðəl
• Hyphenation: broth‧el

Etymology 1

Short for brothel-house (“house of prostitution”), from brothel (“a wretch; scoundrel; lecher; harlot; prostitute”) + house, influenced by bordel. For more on brothel (“a wretch”), see below.

Noun

brothel (plural brothels)

1. A house of prostitution.
   • 1893, Richard von Krafft-Ebing, “Congenital Homo-sexuality”, in Charles Gilbert Chaddock, transl., Psychopathia Sexualis, The F. A. Davis Co., page 245:

     Thus, during the last four years, I have visited brothels about every ten days or two weeks. Only seldom does coitus fail; for I have learned my peculiarities, and in the choice of a prostitute know immediately whether she will excite me or have no effect.

   • 2003, Rob Baum, Female Absence: Women, Theatre, and Other Metaphors, Brussels: P.I.E.-Peter Lang, →ISBN, page 89:

     Only women already existing in the social margins became actresses.²⁶ For example, celebrated tragedienne Elizabeth Barry was an orphan, Nell Gwynn a barmaid raised in a brothel, Moll Davis the illegitimate daughter of a Colonel. Other actresses were the wives and daughters of male actors, as for example Mary Saunderson (Mrs Betterton) and (in a later period) Mrses Kean, Kemble and Siddons.

Synonyms

• academy
• bawdy-house
• bordello
• cathouse
• crib
• disorderly house (historical)
• house of ill fame
• house of ill reputation
• house of ill repute
• knocking shop
• leaping house
• lupanar
• massage parlour
• nunnery
• pushing school
• red house
• sauna
• sporting house
• vaulting school
• whorehouse

See also Thesaurus:brothel

Derived terms

• antibrothel
• brothel creeper
• brotheler
• Brothelgate
• brothelgoer
• brothel-house
• brothel-keeper, brothel keeper, brothelkeeper
• brothel-keeping, brothel keeping, brothelkeeping
• brothellike
• brothelly
• brothelry
• couldn't organise an orgy in a brothel
• embrothel

 

Translations

house of prostitution

• Afrikaans: bordeel (af)
• Albanian: shtëpi publike m, bordello m, bordel (sq) m
• Arabic: بَيْت دَعَارَة m (bayt daʕāra), مَبْغًى (mabḡan), كَرْخَانَة f (karḵāna), بَيْت التَّسَامُح m (bayt at-tasāmuḥ)
• Armenian: պոռնկանոց (hy) (poṙnkanocʻ), հասարակաց տուն (hasarakacʻ tun), պոռնկատուն (hy) (poṙnkatun), բորդել (hy) (bordel)
• Azerbaijani: fahişəxana, əxlaqsızlıq yuvası (euphemistic), qəhbəxana (vulgar)
• Basque: putetxe (eu)
• Belarusian: бардэ́ль m (bardélʹ), публі́чны дом m (publíčny dom), дом цярпі́масці m (dom cjarpímasci)
• Bengali: বেশ্যালয় (beśśaloẏ)
• Bulgarian: борде́й (bg) m (bordéj), барда́к (bg) m (bardák), публи́чен дом m (publíčen dom)
• Catalan: bordell (ca) m, prostíbul (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 妓院 (zh) (jìyuàn), 勾欄／勾栏 (zh) (gōulán), 行院 (zh) (hángyuàn), 花柳 (zh) (huāliǔ), 青樓／青楼 (zh) (qīnglóu), 堂子 (zh) (tángzi), 煙花柳巷／烟花柳巷 (zh) (yānhuāliǔxiàng), 窯子／窑子 (zh) (yáozi)

• Czech: nevěstinec (cs) m, bordel (cs) m
• Danish: bordel n, horehus (da) n
• Daur: яус (jaus)
• Dutch: bordeel (nl) n, hoerenhuis (nl) n, hoerhuis n
• Esperanto: malĉastejo
• Estonian: bordell (et), lõbumaja
• Finnish: bordelli (fi), ilotalo (fi), porttola (fi)
• French: bordel (fr) m, boxon (fr) m, lupanar (fr) m, maison close (fr) f, maison de tolérance (fr) f, (Belgium) privé (fr) m
• Galician: bordel (gl) m, burdallo m, alcouce (gl) m
• Georgian: საროსკიპო (sarosḳiṗo), ბორდელი (bordeli)
• German: Bordell (de) n, Freudenhaus (de) n, Hurenhaus n, Puff (de) m or n
• Greek: οίκος ανοχής (el) m (oíkos anochís), πορνείο (el) n (porneío), χαμαιτυπείο (el) n (chamaitypeío)

  Ancient: πορνοβοσκεῖον n (pornoboskeîon), πορνεῖον n (porneîon), χαμαιτυπεῖον n (khamaitupeîon)

• Hausa: gidan mata
• Hebrew: בֵּית בֹּשֶׁת (he) m (bet bóshet)
• Hindi: चकला (hi) m (caklā), वेश्यालय m (veśyālay), कोठा (hi) m (koṭhā)
• Hungarian: bordély (hu), bordélyház (hu), kupleráj (hu), nyilvánosház (hu)
• Icelandic: hóruhús n, pútnahús n, vændishús n
• Ido: lupanaro (io)
• Indonesian: bordil (id), rumah pelacuran (id)
• Ingrian: bardakka
• Italian: bordello (it) m, casino (it) m, casa d'appuntamenti f, postribolo (it) m, lupanare m, casa chiusa f, casa di tolleranza f
• Japanese: 売春宿 (ja) (ばいしゅんやど, baishun'yado), 妓楼 (ja) (ぎろう, girō), 娼館 (しょうかん, shōkan), 女郎屋 (ja) (じょろうや, jorōya), 青楼 (ja) (せいろう, seirō), 遊女屋 (ゆうじょや, yūjoya), 娼家 (ja) (しょうか, shōka)
• Kazakh: жезөкшелер үйі (jezökşeler üiı)
• Khmer: ពេស្យាស្ថាន (peihsyaasthaan), រោងស្រី (roong srəy), រតិគ្រឹះ (rĕəʼtekrɨh) (euphemistic)
• Korean: 매음굴(賣淫窟) (ko) (maeeumgul), 갈보집 (galbojip), 매춘굴(賣春窟) (maechun'gul), 매춘소 (maechunso)
• Kyrgyz: бордель (bordel)
• Lao: ໂຮງໂສເພນີ (hōng sō phē nī)
• Latin: lupānar n, fornix m
• Latvian: bordelis m
• Lithuanian: bordelis m, viešnamis m
• Low German:

  German Low German: Bordell n, Horenhuus n

• Macedonian: ја́вна ку́ќа f (jávna kúḱa), бо́рдел m (bórdel), курва́рница f (kurvárnica), куплера́ј m (kupleráj)
• Malay: rumah pelacuran
• Maltese: burdell m
• Maori: whare kairau
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: янхны газар (janxny gazar), эмсийн хүрээлэн (emsiin xüreelen), янхны гэр (janxny ger)

• Nahuatl: ahuiyanicalli
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bordell m or n, horehus n

  Nynorsk: bordell m or n, horehus n

• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: блѫдилище n (blǫdilište), цѧтоимьство n (cętoimĭstvo)

• Old English: forliġerhūs n, scandhūs n
• Persian: فاحشه‌خانه (fâheše-xâne), (vulgar) جنده‌خانه (jende-xâne), روسپی‌خانه (ruspi-xâne), (vulgar) قحبه‌خانه (qahbe-xâne)
• Plautdietsch: Huarenhus n
• Polish: agencja towarzyska (pl) f, burdel (pl) m, dom publiczny (pl) m, lupanar (pl) m, zamtuz (pl) m, bajzel (pl) m
• Portuguese: bordel (pt) m, lupanar (pt) m, prostíbulo (pt) m; (vulgar) putaria (pt) f, puteiro (pt) m (vulgar), randevu (pt) m (Brazil)
• Romanian: bordel (ro), lupanar (ro), casă de prostituție (ro) f, casă de toleranță (ro) f
• Romansch: burdel m
• Russian: борде́ль (ru) m (bordɛ́lʹ), публи́чный дом (ru) m (publíčnyj dom), дом терпи́мости (ru) m (dom terpímosti), (colloquial) барда́к (ru) m (bardák), (dated) блуди́лище (ru) n (bludílišče), (rare) лупана́рий (ru) m (lupanárij)
• Sanskrit: वेशवास (sa) m (veśavāsa), कुट्टिनी-गृह n (kuṭṭinī-gṛha), रतिमन्दिर (sa) n (ratimandira), वेश्याजनाश्रय (sa) m (veśyājanāśraya)
• Scottish Gaelic: taigh-siùrsachd m, taigh-strìopachais m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: блу́дилиште n, бо̀рдел m, бурдељ m, јавна кућа f, куплѐра̄ј m

  Roman: blúdilište (sh) n, bòrdel (sh) m, burdelj m, javna kuća f, kuplèrāj (sh) m

• Slovak: bordel m, verejný dom m, nevestinec m
• Slovene: bordel (sl) m, javna hiša f
• Spanish: prostíbulo (es) m, puticlub (es) m, bulín (es) m (Peru), burdel (es) m, lupanar (es) m, mancebía (es) f, casa de putas (es) f, casa de citas (es) f
• Swahili: danguro, madanguro, madangro, dangro
• Swedish: bordell (sv) c, glädjehus (sv), (vulgar) horhus (sv)
• Tajik: фоҳишахона (fohišaxona)
• Thai: ซ่อง (th) (sɔ̂ng), โรงหญิงโสเภณี (roong-yǐng-sǒo-pee-nii), ซ่องโสเภณี (sɔ̂ɔng-sǒo-pee-nii)
• Turkish: genelev (tr), kerhane (tr), umumhane (tr)
• Turkmen: bordel
• Ukrainian: борде́ль m (bordélʹ), буди́нок розпу́сти m (budýnok rozpústy), публі́чний буди́нок m (publíčnyj budýnok), дім розпу́сти m (dim rozpústy)
• Uyghur: پاھىشىخانا (pahishixana), پاھىشخانا (pahishxana)
• Uzbek: fohishaxona (uz), bordel, islavotxona
• Vietnamese: nhà thổ (vi), nhà chứa (vi)
• West Frisian: huorrehûs
• Yiddish: שאַנדהויז n (shandhoyz)

See also

• escort agency
• red-light district
• prostitute

Etymology 2

From Middle English brothel, brodel, brodelle, brethel (“a wretch, a depraved man or woman”) (compare also Middle English bretheling (“a wretch”)), apparently from an unrecorded Old English *brēoþel (“degenerative, corruptive”), related to Old English ābrēoþan (“to unsettle, degrade, ruin, frustrate, degenerate, deteriorate, fall away”); Old English ābroþen (“degenerate, base, trifling”); both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *breuþaną (“to fall apart; crumble”).

The expected modern English form would be *broddle (see fiddle); the failure of the change from /ðl/ to /dl/ may be because of the intervening schwa in the word's uninflected forms, influence from the verb, or most likely, a dialectal development (compare stathel besides staddle).

Noun

brothel (plural brothels)

1. (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) (obsolete) A wretch; a depraved or lewd person.

Anagrams

• Holbert, blother