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blowse

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A slovenly or untidy woman; a gypsy or beggar woman; often derogatory.

Detailed Definition
In satirical or cautionary verse, “blowse” caricatures female disorder or marginality. It reflects period anxieties about poverty, sexuality, or social decay. Though offensive today, its historical use reveals poetic strategies of Othering, where the “blowse” serves as a foil to idealized femininity or domestic order.
Example
Example in poetry:
The blowse sold posies by the chapel gate; That blowse knows more of love than nuns in veil; A ragged blowse sang ballads in the rain; The blowse’s wisdom came from city’s cruel streets
Additional Notes
“Blowse” is a derogatory term for a slovenly woman, gypsy, or beggar—reflecting period anxieties about poverty and female autonomy. In satirical or cautionary verse, it caricatures disorder or marginality. Though offensive today, its historical use reveals poetic strategies of Othering. Related terms include “slattern,” “hussy,” and “drab,” but “blowse” uniquely combines class and gender bias, making it a marker of social critique or moral policing in pre-modern verse.
Also Known As
ruddy wench
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