proxenet

plural proxenets

1. A negotiator; a factor, especially one who negotiates marriages.

   the common Proxenet or Contractor of all natural Matches and Marriages betwixt Forms and Matter

   1659, Henry More, The Immortality of the Soul, so Farre Forth as It is Demonstrable from the Knowledge of Nature and the Light of Reason, London: […] J[ames] Flesher, for William Morden […], →OCLC

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   Let therefore Love, which is the Proxenet of Nature , the great instrument of conciliating hearts , beget in thee a return and retribution of Love, and never think of those streams of blood which so copioufly flowed from the wounded body of thy dying Lord, without a passive and melting spirit;

   1668, Deus Justificatus: or the Divine Goodness vindicated, page 135

   And having not done it, it's clear that he acted not as a proxenet, but judged himself bound for the Price.

   1720, Scotland. Court of Session, Alexander Bruce, The Decisions of the Lords of Council and Session, page 35

   For centuries it has been the cherished dream of a few philosophers and many divines to be the proxenet of a marriage altogether above the earth , and to associate their names with the sure and final wedlock of science and theology.

   1876 March 31, Josiah Crampton, “The Three Heavens”, in The Pall Mall Budget, volume 16, page 21

2. A madam; a woman who runs a brothel.

   An old proxenet in Paris requested the authorities to transfer the management of her brothel to her daughter, aged nineteen.

   1908, Auguste Forel, The Sexual Question, page 301

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   If taken against their consent, the procuress, or the proxenet who has caused the ruin of the firl less than twenty-one, is severely punished.

   1907, Augustus Ravogli, Syphilis in Its Medical, Medico-legal and Sociological Aspects, page 473

   Pimps and proxenets took specific charge of the managerial and financial aspects of prosti- tution , and supervised financial transactions with the clients , in addition to purchasing young orphans or abandoned children whom they trained for prostitution.

   1999, Leyla Rouhi, Mediation and Love, page 19