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Crim. law. Bawdy-houses, the common habitations of prostitutes; such places have always been deemed common nuisances in the United States, and the keepers of them may be fined and imprisoned.

Till the time of Henry VIII, they were licensed in England, when that lascivious prince suppressed them. Vide 2 Inst. 205, 6; for the history of these pernicious places, see Merl. Rep. mot Bordel Parent Duchatellet, De la Prostitution dans la ville de Paris, c. 5, §1; Histoire de la Legislation sur les femmes publiques, & c., par M. Sabatier.