Note 4 — Chapter I · PROSTITUTION: DEFINITION AND EXTENT

It looks like a contradiction in terms to speak of known clandestine prostitution. Current usage on the Continent construes “professional prostitute” to mean a woman who has been registered by the police; any prostitute who is not registered is therefore called clandestine. Many of these so-called clandestines are just as notorious as the registered professionals. The clandestine class therefore nowadays contains known, but unregistered women, as well as unknown or not reliably known prostitutes. It is this last named contingent that was insignificant in medieval, and has become so numerous in modern towns.