Magdalene laundry
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Named after Mary Magdalene, traditionally associated with prostitution and patron saint of penitent sinners.
Noun[edit]
Magdalene laundry (plural Magdalene laundries)
- (historical, chiefly Ireland) A religious facility in which prostitutes and unmarried mothers were kept, usually against their will, as a source of forced labour to launder clothes.