(often Magdalen) archaic a reformed prostitute
Magdalens … worn out and penitent courtesans at Rome — Nathan Bailey
an institution or refuge for reformed prostitutes
Asylums and Magdalenes are not the proper remedies for these abuses — Mary Wollstonecraft
[named after Mary Magdalen or Magdalene, a woman healed by Jesus of evil spirits (Luke 8:2), identified with a reformed prostitute (Luke 7:36–50): compare maudlin]