Etymologically
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whore

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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

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