from
The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906)
MAGDALENE, n. An inhabitant of Magdala. Popularly, a woman found
out. This definition of the word has the authority of ignorance, Mary
of Magdala being another person than the penitent woman mentioned by
St. Luke. It has also the official sanction of the governments of
Great Britain and the United States. In England the word is
pronounced Maudlin, whence maudlin, adjective, unpleasantly
sentimental. With their Maudlin for Magdalene, and their Bedlam for
Bethlehem, the English may justly boast themselves the greatest of
revisers.
from
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Magdalene
a surname derived from Magdala, the place of her nativity, given
to one of the Marys of the Gospels to distinguish her from the
other Marys (Matt. 27:56, 61; 28:1, etc.). A mistaken notion has
prevailed that this Mary was a woman of bad character, that she
was the woman who is emphatically called "a sinner" (Luke
7:36-50). (See {MARY}.)