whore English · revision 15387

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1100|origins=ine-pro *keh₂-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /hɔː/, /hɔɚ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|hore]], respelled with wh- in the 16th century, [[inh|ang|hōre|t=prostitute, harlot]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*hōrōn]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) cognate with [[nl|hoer]], [[goh|huora]] (modern [[m|de|Hure]]), [[non|hóra|t=adulteress]] and [[got|𐌷𐍉𐍂𐍃|tr=hōrs|t=adulterer]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*keh₂-|t=to like, desire]], also the source of [[la|cārus|t=dear]];^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021) the Germanic word perhaps meant one who desires.^(Etymonline)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A prostitute: before 1100 in Barnhart and the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) 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.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Whore itself is perhaps a Germanic euphemism for a word that has not survived.^(Etymonline) 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.^(Etymonline) As a general term of abuse for an unchaste woman, regardless of money, it is from at least about 1200,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and of male prostitutes from the 1630s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Figuratively, of a corrupt or idolatrous community, as the Whore of Babylon, it is from 1382.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The verb is from 1583.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The word is now avoided in polite speech.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1100 – hōre.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1205 – an unchaste woman.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1382 – the Whore of Babylon (figurative).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1535 – the spelling whore.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1583 – to whore (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(offensive)'' A [[prostitute]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(derogatory)'' A person regarded as sexually [[promiscuous]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(derogatory)'' A person who compromises their principles for gain.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To have sex with prostitutes, or to work as one.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To pursue something unworthy.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==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 [[m|sa|काम|tr=kāma|t=love, desire]].^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}