Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.


 (băn′yō, bän′-)
n. pl. ba·gnios
1. A brothel.
2. Obsolete
a. A prison for slaves in Asian countries.
b. A public bathhouse in Italy or Turkey.

[Italian bagno, bath, from Latin balneum, from Greek balaneion.]


n, pl -ios
1. a brothel
2. (Historical Terms) obsolete an oriental prison for slaves
3. (Historical Terms) obsolete an Italian or Turkish bathhouse
[C16: from Italian bagno, from Latin balneum bath, from Greek balaneion]


(ˈbæn yoʊ, ˈbɑn-)

n., pl. -ios.
1. a brothel.
2. Archaic. a prison for slaves, esp. in the Orient.
[1590–1600; < Italian bagno bath < Latin balneum, balineum < Greek balaneîon]
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.bagnio - a building where prostitutes are availablebagnio - a building where prostitutes are available
massage parlor - a place where illicit sex is available under the guise of therapeutic massage
2.bagnio - a building containing public bathsbagnio - a building containing public baths  
sudatorium, sudatory - a bathhouse for hot air baths or steam baths
References in classic literature ?
Without any question it was painted for a bagnio and it was probably refused because it was a trifle too strong.
BAGNIO A Type of tent B Wind-instrument C Bathing-house who am I?
The portrait of Burlington, similarly, depicts the 'Bagnio' at Chiswick in the background.
Bagnio Vicas's barbershop wedged the triune nexus of Omega
Robert Bellarmine Seminary, but in 1952 because of the civil war in China, it was moved to Bagnio, the Philippines.
His careful reconstruction of the composition and functions of the bagnio, an establishment offering both hot baths and courtesans, will prove particularly valuable to researchers into the period.
E cosi siamo condotti al bagnio, prego, al freddo e umido piano terra.
Here, his suspicion is confirmed as he learns that she participates in sexual adventures and has a proclivity for visiting the Chinese bagnio and for witnessing the torture of prisoners.
On her visit to a bath (bagnio), she observes that the naked women 'walked and moved with the same majestic grace which Milton describes of our general mother'; full of admiration for their shining white [sic] skins and beautiful hair, she also notes that 'there was not the least wanton smile or immodest gesture amongst them'.
The "Scenes of Debauchery" that she imagines do not take place in "those Coffee-houses, Bagnio's, &c.
In this "other" realm of the Arabic world, he is entirely stripped of singularity as he ends up in a bagnio "with no particular master" (Cervantes 403).