croshabell
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Blend of crouse (“lively, bold”) + belle (“attractive woman”)[1]
Noun[edit]
croshabell (plural croshabells)
- (obsolete) A prostitute.
- 1607, “How George Read a Play-Book to a Gentleman”, in The Jests of George Peele; republished in The Works of George Peele, 2nd edition, volume 2, London: William Pickering, 1829, page 290:
- […] in Italian called a curtezan, in Spain, a margerite, in French une curtain, in England, among the barbarous, a whore, but among the gentle, their usual associates, a punk: but now the word refined being latest, and the authority brought from a climate as yet unconquered, the fruitful county of Kent, they call them croshabell, which is a word but lately used, and fitting with their trade, being of a lovely and courteous condition.
Synonyms[edit]
- harlot, lady of the night, tweak; see also Thesaurus:prostitute
References[edit]
- ^ Jonathon Green (2024) “croshabell n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, retrieved 13 January 2020