whore +

(Old English hore > Middle English hore: prostitute)

A whore is etymologically a "lover". The word goes back to the Indo-European base qar-, which also produced Latin carus "dear" which is the source of English caress and charity; as well as, Old Irish caraim. It produced prehistoric Germanic khoron, which evolved into German hure, Dutch hoer, Swedish hora, Danish hore, and English whore; whose wh spelling first appeared in the 16th century.

Contact with East Indian culture has added yet another pair of derivatives from the Indo-European roots ka and kamo from which came the Sanskrit word kamah, "love, desire"; from which are derived the English borrowings Kama, "the Hindu god of love", and Kamasutra, "a Sanskrit treatise on the rules of love and marriage according to Hindu law".

bewhore
To make a whore of; to prostitute.
field-whore
A "very common whore".
ho
1. A whore, a prostitute; originally a U.S./ Black slang term.
2. A contemptible woman.

By extension of the definition in #1, that prostitution or a whore is generally considered to be disreputable.

ho, hoe
A derogatory U.S. slang term for a promiscuous female; a respelling of whore meant to represent a Black American pronunciation and usage.

After calling the NCAA finalists of the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy headed hos" on his radio show last week, many people believed Don Imus had crossed the line one too many times.

After repeated apologies and appeals for forgiveness and a two-week suspension by CBS radio and MSNBC, the protests and demands that Imus be fired have continued.

The Christian Science Monitor, USA, Society & Culture from the April 11, 2007, edition.
whore (hohr)
1. A prostitute.
2. A person considered sexually promiscuous.
3. Someone who is considered as having compromised principles for personal gain.
4. To associate or have sexual relations with prostitutes or a prostitute.
5. To accept payment in exchange for sexual relations.
6. To compromise one's principles for personal gain.
7. A female prostitute or a woman whose behavior in her sexual relationships is considered immoral; harlot; strumpet.
8. A general term of abuse from at least the 13th century.

It it claimed that in Germany most prostitutes' organizations deliberately use the word Hure (whore) since they feel that the term prostitute is a bad or an evil word.

whoredom
1. The practice of accepting payment in exchange for sexual relations; prostitution.
2. Unlawful sexual relations; promiscuous sex.
3. In the Bible, unfaithfulness to God; idolatry.
whorehouse
A house of prostitution.
whoremaster (s) (noun), whoremasters (pl)
1. A man who associates with or pays for sexual relations with prostitutes or a prostitute: In the ,movie, Jack turned out to be a whoremaster who hung around questionable areas in town, mainly close to the train station.
2. Someone who consorts with whores: A whoremaster can be a lecher or pander and spends a lot of time in dubious parts of town.
3. A pimp who procures whores for customers: A whoremaster is usually a man who finds customers for a prostitute in return for a portion of the prostitute's earnings.
whoremistress
A brothel-keeper.
whoremonger
1. A whoremaster.
2. One who has dealings with whores; one who practises whoredom; a fornicator, lecher.
whoreson
1. An illegitimate child.
2. The son of a whore, a bastard son; but commonly used as a coarse term of reprobation, abuse, dislike, or contempt.
3. Commonly used as a coarsely abusive epithet, applied to a person or thing: vile, abominable, execrable, detestable, "wretched", or "scurvy".
whorish, whorishly, whorishness
Of or characteristic of whores or a whore; lewd.

Related "sex, sexism, sexual lust, sexual deviation" word units: aphrodi-; -cest-; eroto-; lagneuo-; -lagnia; masochism; porno-; Sadism-; satyr-; sex-; sodom-.