Dutch widow

English

Pronunciation
  • Audio (US)(file)

Noun

Dutch widow (plural Dutch widows)

  1. (archaic or obsolete) A female prostitute.
    • c. 1605 (first performance; published 1608), Thomas Middleton, “A Trick to Catch the Old One”, in A[rthur] H[enry] Bullen, editor, The Works of Thomas Middleton […] (The English Dramatists), volume II, London: John C. Nimmo […], published 1885, →OCLC, Act III, scene iii, page 301:
      Dra. He says none came in yet, sir, but one mistress Florence.
      Hoa. What is that Forence? A widow?
      Dra. Yes, a Dutch widow.
      Hoa. How?
      Dra. That's an English drab, sir
      The spelling has been modernized.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.