harlot

har·lot  (härlt)

n.

A woman prostitute.

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[Middle English, vagabond, rogue, lecher, harlot, from Old French arlot, herlot, vagabond.]

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harlot·ry (-l-tr) n.

Word History: The word harlot nowadays refers to a particular kind of woman, but interestingly it used to refer to a particular kind of man. The word is first recorded in English in a work written around the beginning of the 13th century, meaning "a man of no fixed occupation, vagabond, beggar," and soon afterwards meant "male lecher." Already in the 14th century it appears as a deprecatory word for a woman, though exactly how this meaning developed from the male sense is not clear. For a time the word could also refer to a juggler or jester of either sex, but by the close of the 17th century its usage referring to males had disappeared.

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harlot

Noun

Literary a prostitute [Old French herlot rascal]

harlotry n

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

harlot - a woman who engages in sexual intercourse for money bawd, cocotte, cyprian, fancy woman, lady of pleasure, prostitute, sporting lady, tart, whore, woman of the street, working girl call girl - a female prostitute who can be hired by telephone camp follower - a prostitute who provides service to military personnel comfort woman, ianfu - a woman forced into prostitution for Japanese servicemen during World War II; "she wrote a book about her harsh experiences as a comfort woman" demimondaine - a woman whose sexual promiscuity places her outside respectable society hustler, slattern, street girl, streetwalker, floozie, floozy, hooker - a prostitute who attracts customers by walking the streets white slave - a woman sold into prostitution adult female, woman - an adult female person (as opposed to a man); "the woman kept house while the man hunted"

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harlot

noun (Literary) prostitute, tart (informal) whore, slag, pro (slang) tramp (slang), Brit. (slang) call girl, working girl (facetious), (slang) slapper Brit. (slang) hussy, streetwalker, loose woman, fallen woman, scrubber Brit., Austral. (slang) strumpet