Dictionary

bagnio en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈbænɪɔ/

Etymology

From Italian bagno, from Latin balneum (“bath”). Doublet of bain, balaneion, and banya.

Meanings

1. A brothel.
   • an old woman who has charge of a bagnio 1883, Adele Marion Fielde, “婆 (phûa)”, in A pronouncing and defining dictionary of the Swatow dialect, arranged according to syllables and tones, Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press, page 458:
   • Before we got back to Cairo there were some ding-dong fights among the soldiers. One of the best brawls started in a bagnio. 1933, Frank Clune, Try Anything Once, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 110:
2. (obsolete) A building for bathing, sweating.
3. (obsolete) In Turkey, a prison for slaves.

Forms