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whore

 - 5 dictionary results

whore

  [hawr, hohr or, often, hoor] noun, verb, whored, whor⋅ing.
Use whore in a Sentence
–noun
1. a woman who engages in promiscuous sexual intercourse, usually for money; prostitute; harlot; strumpet.
–verb (used without object)
2. to act as a whore.
3. to consort with whores.
–verb (used with object)
4. Obsolete. to make a whore of; corrupt; debauch.
Origin:
bef. 1100; ME, OE hōre; c. G Hure, ON hōra; akin to Goth hors harlot, L cārus dear

who're

  [hoo-er]
contraction of who are: Who're the people at the next table?
Usage note:
See contraction.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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whore   (hôr, hōr)   
n.  

  1. A prostitute.

  2. A person considered sexually promiscuous.

  3. A person considered as having compromised principles for personal gain.

intr.v.   whored, whor·ing, whores

  1. To associate or have sexual relations with prostitutes or a prostitute.

  2. To accept payment in exchange for sexual relations.

  3. To compromise one's principles for personal gain.


[Middle English hore, from Old English hōre; see kā- in Indo-European roots.]
Word History: Derivatives of Indo-European roots have often acquired starkly contrasting meanings. A prime example is the case of the root *kā-, "to like, desire." From it was derived a stem *kāro-, from which came the prehistoric Common Germanic word *hōraz with the underlying meaning "one who desires" and the effective meaning "adulterer." The feminine of this, *hōrōn-, became hōre in Old English, the ancestor of Modern English whore. In another branch of the Indo-European family, the same stem *kāro- produced the Latin word cārus, "dear." This word has several derivatives borrowed into English, including caress, cherish, and charity, in Christian doctrine the highest form of love and the greatest of the theological virtues. · Another derivative of the root *kā- in Indo-European was *kāmo-, a descendant of which is the Sanskrit word for "love," kāmaḥ, appearing in the name of the most famous treatise on love and lovemaking, the Kamasutra.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

whore  (n.)
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.

whore  (v.)
"to have to do with whores," 1583, from whore (n.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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