brothel
English · Thesaurus
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
brothel¹
- /ˈbɹɔθəl/ US
- /ˈbɹɔðəl/ US
- /ˈbɹɒθəl/ UK
- /ˈbɹɒðəl/ UK, obsolete
- /ˈbɹɑθəl/ cot caught merger
- /ˈbɹɑðəl/ cot caught merger
Rhymes with -ɒθəl, -ɒðəl
Where it comes from
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 brothels
-
A house of prostitution.
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.
Similar: academy, bawdy-house, bordello, cathouse, crib, disorderly house, house of accommodation, house of ill fame, house of ill reputation, house of ill repute, knocking shop, leaping house
Similar: bagnio, bawdy house, bawdyhouse, brothel, brothel house, cat house, cat-house, common house, escort agency, fuckhouse, hookshop, leaping-house, prostibule, riding academy, stew, wapping ken, whore-house
brothel²
- /ˈbɹɔθəl/ US
- /ˈbɹɔðəl/ US
- /ˈbɹɒθəl/ UK
- /ˈbɹɒðəl/ UK, obsolete
- /ˈbɹɑθəl/ cot caught merger
- /ˈbɹɑðəl/ cot caught merger
Rhymes with -ɒθəl, -ɒðəl
Where it comes from
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 brothels
-
A wretch; a depraved or lewd person.
Similar: academy, bawdy-house, bordello, cathouse, disorderly house, crib, house of accommodation, house of ill fame, house of ill repute, knocking shop, leaping house, lupanar
Similar: bagnio, bawdy house, bawdyhouse, brothel, brothel house, cat house, cat-house, common house, escort agency, fuckhouse, hookshop, leaping-house, prostibule, riding academy, stew, wapping ken, whore-house
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: bagnio, bordello, cathouse, sporting house, whorehouse, bawdyhouse, prostitution, hostess, son, frak, junk, heck, madhouse, dang, goddamn, fuss
noun
Similar: bagnio, bawdy house, bawdyhouse, brothel, brothel house, cat house, cat-house, common house, escort agency, fuckhouse, hookshop, leaping-house, prostibule, riding academy, stew, wapping ken, whore-house
noun
Similar: bagnio, bawdy house, bawdyhouse, brothel, brothel house, cat house, cat-house, common house, escort agency, fuckhouse, hookshop, leaping-house, prostibule, riding academy, stew, wapping ken, whore-house
Translations
Every language
noun house of prostitution
Talk about this word "brothel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/brothel. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. brothel. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/brothel "brothel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/brothel.Cite this
@misc{brothel_2026,
title = {brothel},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/brothel},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
