Synonyms

strumpet

[struhm-pit] Origin

strum·pet

[struhm-pit]
noun
a prostitute; harlot.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English < ?

strum·pet·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Strumpet is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
Collins
World English Dictionary
strumpet (ˈstrʌmpɪt)
 
n
archaic a prostitute or promiscuous woman
 
[C14: of unknown origin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

strumpet
early 14c., of uncertain origin. One theory connects it with L. stuprata, fem. pp. of stuprare "have illicit sexual relations with," or L.L. strupum "dishonor, violation." Others suggest M.Du. strompe "a stocking," or strompen "to stride, to stalk" (as a prostitute might a customer). The major sources
EXPAND
don't seem to give much preference to any of these. Weekley notes "Gregory's Chronicle (c.1450) has streppett in same sense." In 18c.-early 19c., often abbreviated as strum and also used as a verb, which led to some odd dictionary entries:
TO STRUM: to have carnal knowledge of a woman, also to play badly on the harpsichord or any other stringed instrument. [Capt. Francis Grose, "A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1796] COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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