Prostitution

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Prostitution \Pros`ti*tu"tion\, n. [L. prostitutio: cf. F.
     prostitution.]
     1. The act or practice of prostituting or offering the body
        to an indiscriminate intercourse with men; common lewdness
        of a woman.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. The act of setting one's self to sale, or of devoting to
        infamous purposes what is in one's power; as, the
        prostitution of abilities; the prostitution of the press.
        "Mental prostitution." --Byron.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  prostitution
       n : offering sexual intercourse for pay [syn: {harlotry}, {whoredom}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  77 Moby Thesaurus words for "prostitution":
     Cosa Nostra, Mafia, abuse, abuse of office, adulteration,
     befouling, befoulment, black market, bootlegging, contamination,
     conversion, corrupt administration, corruption, debasement,
     defalcation, defilement, degradation, desecration, devaluation,
     diversion, embezzlement, envenoming, festering, fouling, gambling,
     gray market, harlotry, illegal commerce, illegal operations,
     illegitimate business, illicit business, infection, loan-sharking,
     lowering, maladministration, malfeasance, malpractice,
     malversation, misapplication, misappropriation, misconduct,
     misemployment, misfeasance, mishandling, mismanagement, misusage,
     misuse, moonshining, narcotics traffic, organized crime, pandering,
     peculation, perversion, pilfering, pimping, poisoning, pollution,
     poor stewardship, profanation, protection racket, racket,
     shady dealings, solicitation, soliciting, streetwalking,
     suppuration, the rackets, the syndicate, traffic in women, usury,
     vice, violation, vitiation, white slavery, whoredom, whoremastery,
     whoremonging
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  PROSTITUTION. The common lewdness of a woman for gain. 
       2. In all well regulated communities this has been considered a heinous 
  offence, for which the woman may be punished, and the keeper of a house of 
  prostitution may be indicted for keeping a common nuisance. 
       3. So much does the law abhor this offence, that a landlord cannot 
  recover for the use and occupation of a house let for the purpose of 
  prostitution. 1 Esp. Cas. 13; 1 Bos. & Pull. 340, n. 
       4. In a figurative sense, it signifies the bad use which a corrupt 
  judge makes of the law, by making it subservient to his interest; as, the 
  prostitution of the law, the prostitution of justice.