English
bawd
Bawd comes from Old French baud ‘bold, lively, jolly, gay’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to sound’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-‘to sound’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰóltosreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*balþaz‘strong, bold’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*balþreconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400baud‘bold, lively, jolly, gay’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bawde
- Englishearliest quotation 1594bawd
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-‘to sound’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰóltosreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*balþaz‘strong, bold’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*balþreconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400baud‘bold, lively, jolly, gay’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bawde
- Englishearliest quotation 1594bawd
Earliest quotation: 1594, Christopher Marlowe, King of England: […]: “In ſaying this thou wrongſt me Gaueſton, / Iſt…”
The story
An association with Welsh bawddyn (‘dirty fellow, scoundrel’), from baw (‘dirt’), was suggested by the Rev.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to sound’
ball, bowl, bell, bull, flame, boil, blaze, blush, blur, blizzard, bleach, bald, bolster, boldly, budge, bale, sabha, blemish, bola, phlegm, phallus, bolero, blithe, phlox, blain, bleat, 72 more
through Proto-Germanic *balþaz ‘strong, bold’
Today it means
noun One who keeps a brothel, or procures women for prostitution; a procurer or madam.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- / bawd