arch. Forms: 4–8 bawdery, 4–7 baudery, 5 baudre, 6 baudrey, baudrye, bawdrye, (baudeir,) bauderie, baudrie, 6–7 baudry, bawdrie, 7–8 bawdry. [f. BAWD sb.1 + -RY; the sense does not agree with F. bauderie, which means simply ‘boldness, liveliness.’]
1. The practice of a bawd; the business of providing opportunities for sexual immorality.
c. 1374. Chaucer, Troylus, III. 348. Me thoght … I shold wene hit were a bawdery.
1447–8. Shillingford, Lett. (1871), 104. Yif any such mysrule and bawdery bee within the saide taverne.
1569. J. Sanford, trans. Agrippa’s Van. Artes, 97. Bawdrie is the arte of assaultinge and makinge common an others chastitie.
1634. T. Johnson, Parey’s Chirurg., XXIV. xlii. (1678), 571. The most filthy and infamous Arts of Baudery.
1726. Ayliffe, Parerg., 42. Bawdry … is a wicked Practice of procuring and bringing Whores and Rogues together.
† 2. gen. Unchastity, fornication. Obs.
1460. in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866), 97. And he be getten in bawdre.
1600. Shaks., A. Y. L., III. iii. 99. We must be married, or we must liue in baudrey.
1651. Weldon, Crt. Jas. I., 7. For the bringing this bawdery to a marriage.
3. Lewdness in speech or writing; lewd, obscene, or filthy talk, etc.
1589. Pappe w. Hatchet (1844), 23. If Martin speake broad bawdrie.
1611. Shaks., Wint. T., IV. iv. 194. He has the prettiest Loue-songs for Maids, so without bawdrie.
1711. Steele, Spect., No. 51, ¶ 2. No one ever writ Bawdry for any other Reason but Dearth of Invention.
1792. A. Young, Trav. France, 135. A voluble garniture of bawdry or nonsense.
b. attrib. = BAWDY a.2
1763. Churchill, Duellist, III. Poems II. 36. Bawl’d bawdry songs to a Psalm Tune.
† 4. Material filth; dirt, defilement. Cf. BAWDY a.1 Obs.
1648. Herrick, Hesper., 141 (D.). And have our roofe … And seeling free From that cheape candle baudery.
