English▸ noun (the Magdalen or the Magdalene) St. Mary Magdalene.
▪ archaic a reformed prostitute.
▪ archaic a home for reformed prostitutes.
– ORIGIN late Middle English : via ecclesiastical Latin from Greek (Maria hē) Magdalēnē ‘(Mary of) Magdala’ (to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection; John 20:1–18), formerly identified with the sinner of Luke 7:37.