Word
pimp
US/ˈpɪmp/
UK/pˈɪmp/
Definition
n. a person who controls sex workers and takes a part of the money they earn. This word is very informal and often considered offensive or rude.
n. a person who procures customers for prostitutes and manages their earnings. Often carries a derogatory or highly informal tone; avoid in professional or academic contexts.
Examples
“The police arrested the pimp during the raid.”
“The documentary explores the dangerous power dynamics between a pimp and the people working under his control.”
“Sociological studies of urban underground economies often examine how a pimp maintains authority through a combination of financial dependency and psychological manipulation.”
Examples
simple
“The police arrested the pimp during the raid.”
contextual
“The documentary explores the dangerous power dynamics between a pimp and the people working under his control.”
complex
“Sociological studies of urban underground economies often examine how a pimp maintains authority through a combination of financial dependency and psychological manipulation.”
Usage
Commonly used as a derogatory term; also appears as a verb meaning to provide customers for a prostitute.
Etymology
Origin unknown. Perhaps from French pimpant (“smart, sparkish”) or German Pimpf (“a boy, a youth, a young squirt”). The Old English near-synonym was rendered by Old English forspennend (literally “a solicitor”).
From Brythonic numerals, from Proto-Brythonic *pɨmp. Cognate with Welsh pump, Cornish pymp, Breton pemp. Doublet of cinque, fin (“five currency units”), finnuf, five, ponzu, punch (“beverage”), and sengi (“currency”); related to Pompeii.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.