noun
woman of loose morals; lewd woman
A derogatory term for a woman considered sexually immoral or promiscuous. Strongly pejorative and old-fashioned; not used in neutral modern speech.
彼女は村人から淫婦と呼ばれ、つらい思いをした。
She was called a lewd woman by the villagers and suffered greatly.
noun
Archaic or literary term for a female prostitute. Cross-referenced with 淫売婦 (いんばいふ), a more explicit historical term for a prostitute. In modern Japanese, 売春婦 or 娼婦 are more common.
See also: 淫売婦
江戸時代の文献には、淫婦という言葉が遊女を指して使われている。
In Edo-period documents, the word 淫婦 is used to refer to courtesans.
Composed of 淫 (いん, 'lewd, obscene') and 婦 (ふ, 'woman, lady'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the compound has been used in classical Chinese and Japanese texts to denote a woman of loose morals or a prostitute.