Well attestedNamed from the place
Bankside lady
noun · first attested 19th century
The brothels behind the phrase were licensed by a bishop.
A prostitute.
51.5082°N -0.1001°W · Q2660320
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
- Attested
- 19th century
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Bankside
- In English
Bankside lady
Bankside is the Southwark riverbank opposite the City of London, outside the city's jurisdiction, where brothels called the stews operated from the Middle Ages. Much of the ground belonged to the Bishop of Winchester, and the women working there were known as Winchester geese. The slang outlived the trade and was still being recorded by Farmer and Henley in the nineteenth century.
United Kingdom
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