whore

Meanings

Plural: whores

Noun

a woman who engages in sexual intercourse for money
Synonym of prostitute: a person (especially a woman) who offers sexual services for payment.
A person who is sexually promiscuous; a slut.
A person who is unscrupulous, especially one who compromises their principles for gain.
A person who will violate behavioral standards to achieve something desired.
A contemptible person.

Verb

work as a prostitute
have unlawful sex with a whore
compromise oneself for money or other gains
- "She whored herself to Hollywood"
To prostitute oneself.
To engage the services of a prostitute.
To pimp; to pander.
To promote shamelessly.
To pursue false gods.
To pursue false goals.
To overuse something.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English hore, from Old English hōre, from Proto-Germanic *hōrǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ros (“loved”), from *keh₂- (“to wish; desire”). Cognate with Dutch hoer, German Hure, Old Norse hóra as well as Sanskrit चारु (cā́ru, “dear”), Latin cārus (“dear, expensive”), and Irish cara (“friend”).
The unetymological spelling with wh- superficially denotes a formerly standard pronunciation with an excrescent /w/ (such as in whole), but such a form is hardly found in either commentators on Early Modern English pronunciations or records of traditional dialects (which both explicitly mention its rarity or absence), therefore leaving the spelling somewhat inexplicable. However, this may be because such a excrescent /w/ was absorbed by a following /uː/ (as in words with etymological /w/ such as whom, two) after it became established in the spelling but before our earliest orthoepic records.

Synonyms

bawd, cocotte, cyprian, fancy woman, harlot, lady of pleasure, pander, pimp, pimp out, prostitute, prostitute oneself, sell one's body, sporting lady, tart, tout, turn out, turn tricks, woman of the street, working girl

Scrabble Score: 11

whore is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
whore is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
whore is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 10

whore is a valid Words With Friends word