ma-cô

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Pimp: A person, especially a man, who controls sex workers and arranges clients for them, taking part of their earnings. This term specifically refers to this role in the historical context of old Vietnamese society.
   • Procurer: Someone who finds and provides people (typically women) for the purpose of prostitution.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Hắn ta là một tên ma-cô khét tiếng trong khu phố ấy. (He was a notorious pimp in that neighborhood.)
  • Trong xã hội cũ, ma-cô và chủ nhà chứa thường cấu kết với nhau. (In the old society, pimps and brothel owners often colluded.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "ma-cô" is considered vulgar and carries a strong negative connotation. It is primarily used in historical or critical descriptions of the sex trade in pre-modern and colonial Vietnamese society.

Variants and Related Words

• Chủ nhà chứa (n): Brothel owner.
  • Chủ nhà chứa bị cảnh sát bắt giữ. (The brothel owner was arrested by the police.)

Synonyms

• Pimp: The most direct equivalent.
• Procurer: A more formal term for someone who obtains people for prostitution.
• Souteneur: A French loanword with the same meaning, used in some contexts.

Related Terms and Concepts

• Gái điếm (n): Prostitute; sex worker. This is the term for the person typically controlled by a .
  • Ma-cô bóc lột tiền của các cô gái điếm. (The pimp exploited money from the prostitutes.)
• Làng chơi (n): The "playboy" world or demimonde; refers to the milieu of clients, sex workers, and those who profit from them.