O.E.
hore "prostitute, harlot," from P.Gmc.
*khoraz (fem.
*khoron-) "one who desires" (cf. O.N.
hora "adulteress," Dan.
hore, Swed.
hora, Du.
hoer, O.H.G.
huora "whore;" in Goth. only in the masc.
hors "adulterer, fornicator," also as a verb,
horinon "commit adultery"), from PIE
*qar-, a base that has produced words in other languages for "lover" (cf. L.
carus "dear;" O.Ir.
cara "friend;" O.Pers.
kama "desire;" Skt.
Kama, name of the Hindu god of love,
kamah "love, desire," the first element in
Kama Sutra).
Whore itself is perhaps a Gmc. euphemism for a word that has not survived. Some equivalent words in other languages also derive from sources not originally pejorative, e.g. perhaps O.Fr.
pute, perhaps lit. "girl," fem. of V.L.
*puttus (but perhaps rather from L.
putidus "stinking;" see
poontang). Welsh
putain "whore" is from O.Fr., probably via M.E. Cf. also Bohemian
nevestka, dim. of
nevesta "bride." And Du.
deern, Ger.
dirne originally "girl, lass, wench." Among other languages, Gk.
porne "prostitute" is related to
pernemi "sell," with an original notion, probably of a female slave sold for prostitution; L.
meretrix is lit. "one who earns wages" (source of Ir.
mertrech, O.E.
miltestre "whore, prostitute"). The vulgar Roman word was
scortum, lit. "skin, hide." Another term was
lupa, lit. "she-wolf" (preserved in Sp.
loba, It.
lupa, Fr.
louve; see
wolf). And of course there was
prostituta, lit, "placed in front," thus "publicly exposed," from the fem. pp. of
prostituere (see
prostitute). Another O.N. term was
skækja, which yielded Dan.
skøge, Swed.
sköka; probably from M.L.G.
schoke, which is perhaps from
schode "foreskin of a horse's penis," perhaps with the sense of "skin" (cf. L.
scortum) or perhaps via an intermediary sense of "vagina." Sp.
ramera, Port.
ramiera are from fem. form of
ramero "young bird of prey," lit. "little branch," from
ramo "branch." Breton
gast is cognate with Welsh
gast "bitch," of uncertain origin. Cf. also
strumpet,
harlot. O.C.S.
ljubodejica is from
ljuby dejati "fornicate," a compound from
ljuby "love" +
dejati "put, perform." Rus.
bljad "whore" derives from O.C.S.
bladinica, from
bladu "fornication." Pol.
nierzadnica is lit. "disorderly woman." Skt.
vecya is a derivation of
veca- "house, dwelling," especially "house of ill-repute, brothel." Another term,
pumccali, means lit. "one who runs after men." Avestan
jahika is lit. "woman," but only of evil creatures; another term is
kunairi, from pejorative prefix
ku- +
nairi "woman." The
wh- spelling became current 16c. A general term of abuse from at least 13c.
Whore of Babylon is from Rev. xvii:1, 5, etc.