tawaif

plural tawaifs

1. BangladeshIndiaPakistanSouth AsiahistoricalA professional courtesan serving the nobility, especially under the Mughal Empire; (derogatory)

   ‘The tawaif has graduated from mere singing to dancing.’

   1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 11

   2 more examples

   Characterized by its soft eroticism, mujra was performed by courtesans called tawaif who were an integral part of life in the Mughal court.

   2008, Susan Dewey, Hollow Bodies, page 147

   And since the British period, the reputation of a common prostitute has dogged the heels of the tawaif.

   2008, Gayatri Chatterjee, in Sahni, Shankar, Apte (Eds.), Prostitution and Beyond, p. 290

2. BangladeshIndiaPakistanSouth Asiaderogatoryharlot, whore, prostitute