Other forms: harlots
Harlot is an old and insulting word for a prostitute. A harlot in the old sense, called her a harlot, the harlot of the story.
It is archaic and appears now mainly in the Bible, in Shakespeare and in deliberate imitation of them. Like almost all such words it was aimed at women and used to shame them; the neutral modern term is sex worker.
1nounharlotA prostitute, in old and insulting use.
“In the old play, the jealous husband wrongly calls his wife a harlot.”
harlot is an old insult.
Also accepted in games: strumpet
Middle English harlot first meant a vagabond or rogue, and applied to men. It narrowed to women by the fifteenth century.
Old French
harlot
Middle English
harlot
English, today
harlot
Built from
From Middle English harlot, from Old French harlot, herlot, arlot (“vagabond; tramp”), of obscure origin. Likely to be ultimately of gem - origin, either from a derivation of harjaz (“army; camp; warrior; military leader”) or from a diminutive of karilaz (“man; fellow”). Compare English carlot.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in A Song of Ice and Fire