whore

Meaning

Noun

1. (derogatory, vulgar) Synonym of prostitute: a person (especially a woman) who offers sexual services for payment.
2. (derogatory, vulgar) A person who is sexually promiscuous; a slut.
3. (derogatory, vulgar) A person who is unscrupulous, especially one who compromises their principles for gain.
4. (derogatory, vulgar) A person who will violate behavioral standards to achieve something desired.
5. (derogatory, vulgar) A contemptible person.

Verb

1. (derogatory, intransitive, vulgar) To prostitute oneself.
2. (derogatory, intransitive, vulgar) To engage the services of a prostitute.
3. (derogatory, transitive, vulgar) To pimp; to pander.
4. (derogatory, transitive, vulgar) To promote shamelessly.
5. (derogatory, intransitive, vulgar) To pursue false gods.
6. (derogatory, intransitive, vulgar) To pursue false goals.
7. (derogatory, slang, transitive, vulgar) To overuse something.

Synonyms

prostitute

harlot

hooker

slut

bitch

strumpet

streetwalker

trollop

tart

fornicate

hustler

bawd

courtesan

cyprian

ho

hoe

call girl

public woman

cocotte

escort

tramp

working girl

indulge in debauch

woman of the street

sporting lady

promiscuous woman

street-walker

lady of pleasure

wench

fancy woman

lead a depraved life

prostiture

stem siren

puta

oiran

lady of the night

adulteress

comfort girl

broad

commit adultery

common woman

debauch

fast woman

filth

fornicatress

geisha

girl

👧

madam

minx

nosing

Translations

Hure

putain

puttana

puta

prostituée

prostituta

prostituta

Nutte

hoer

ramera

Prostituierte

πουτάνα

puta

pute

Pronounced as (IPA)

/hɔː/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: hore

Inherited from Old English: hōre

Cognate with Latin: cārus

Cognate with Polish: kurwa

Cognate with German: Hure

In summary

From Middle English hore, from Old English hōre, from Proto-Germanic *hōrǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ros (“loved”), from *keh₂- (“to wish; desire”). Cognate with Dutch hoer, German Hure, Old Norse hóra as well as Sanskrit चारु (cā́ru, “dear”), Latin cārus (“dear, expensive”), and Irish cara (“friend”).
The unetymological spelling with wh- superficially denotes a formerly standard pronunciation with an excrescent /w/ (such as in whole), but such a form is hardly found in either commentators on Early Modern English pronunciations or records of traditional dialects (which both explicitly mention its rarity or absence), therefore leaving the spelling somewhat inexplicable. However, this may be because such a excrescent /w/ was absorbed by a following /uː/ (as in words with etymological /w/ such as whom, two) after it became established in the spelling but before our earliest orthoepic records.