maison de passe

UK/ˈmeɪzɒn də pas/

noun

A low-class hotel where rooms are rented out by the hour, especially to prostitutes and their clients.

OriginFrench maison de passe →
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Meanings

nounmaison de passe (plural maisons de passe)

plural maisons de passe

  1. A low-class hotel where rooms are rented out by the hour, especially to prostitutes and their clients.

    Of course in part it is due to the fact that it took place at the Princes Hotel - what the devil induced Piers to stay there instead of somewhere like the Bristol? Funds? It's virtually a maison de passe.

    1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 31

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
hot-sheet motellove hotelno-tell motelroom by the hour

Origin

  1. Frenchmaison de passe
  2. Englishmaison de passe

From French maison de passe.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

maison de passe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maison%20de%20passe

MLA

“maison de passe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maison%20de%20passe. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “maison de passe,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maison%20de%20passe.

Source: maison de passe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.