whore

Pronunciation

• IPA: /hɔː/, /hɔɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English hore, respelled with wh- in the 16th century, inherited from Old English hōre (“prostitute, harlot”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *hōrōn,^[2][3] cognate with Dutch hoer, Old High German huora (modern Hure), Old Norse hóra (“adulteress”) and Gothic 𐌷𐍉𐍂𐍃 (hōrs, “adulterer”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂- (“to like, desire”), also the source of Latin cārus (“dear”);^[3][4][5] the Germanic word perhaps meant one who desires.^[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A prostitute: before 1100 in Barnhart and the OED.^[2][7] Middle English hore is probably from before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle, and the spelling with wh- is from 1535, current in the 16th century.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Whore itself is perhaps a Germanic euphemism for a word that has not survived.^[3] The Old English vowel would naturally have given *hoor, the pronunciation in some dialects; it may have shifted under the influence of Middle English hore, filth.^[3] As a general term of abuse for an unchaste woman, regardless of money, it is from at least about 1200,^[3][7] and of male prostitutes from the 1630s.^[3][7] Figuratively, of a corrupt or idolatrous community, as the Whore of Babylon, it is from 1382.^[7][3] The verb is from 1583.^[2][7] The word is now avoided in polite speech.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1100 – hōre.^[2][7]
• c. 1205 – an unchaste woman.^[7]
• 1382 – the Whore of Babylon (figurative).^[7]
• 1535 – the spelling whore.^[2]
• 1583 – to whore (verb).^[2][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (offensive) A prostitute.
2. (derogatory) A person regarded as sexually promiscuous.
3. (derogatory) A person who compromises their principles for gain.

Verb

1. To have sex with prostitutes, or to work as one.
2. To pursue something unworthy.

Word family

• ho
• whoredom
• whorish
• whorehouse
• whoremaster
• whoremonger
• whoreson

Related words

• harlot
• charity
• caress

Usage notes

The AHD notes that the same Indo-European root gave Latin cārus, the source of caress, cherish and charity, and Sanskrit काम (kāma, “love, desire”).^[6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press