What does hore mean?
Hore is an archaic English noun meaning a prostitute, especially a woman who performs sexual acts in exchange for payment. It is closely associated with the modern spelling whore and survives mainly in older literature, historical texts, and deliberately archaic usage. Because the term can be derogatory and offensive, it is unsuitable for ordinary contemporary use except when discussing historical language or quoting a source. Modern readers will usually understand prostitute as the appropriate direct term, while whore may also appear in figurative language, though it too can be strongly insulting. The word is notable chiefly as an earlier form in the history of a once-common but now socially restricted term connected with commercial sex.
nounObsolete and offensive: a woman who engages in sexual intercourse for payment; a prostitute.
- Obsolete and offensive: a prostitute, especially a woman paid for sexual intercourse.
"The archaic novel referred to the woman only as a hore."
"The play uses hore as an archaic insult for a sexually promiscuous woman."
"In early modern English, hore could refer to a woman engaged in commercial sexual activity."
The plural is hores, but the headword is obsolete and offensive and is rarely needed in contemporary writing.
"The archive contains several references to hores working near the docks."
Hore survives chiefly as an archaic form of whore, a word now used both literally and figuratively in modern English.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of hore
Hore descends from Middle English hore, which continued the Old English word hore with the meaning of a prostitute or sexually promiscuous woman. The modern spelling whore belongs to the same historical word family and reflects a later development of the Middle English form. The word's precise ultimate origin is not securely established.
How hore is actually used
This is an obsolete and offensive term. In contemporary English, use prostitute when referring to someone who exchanges sexual services for payment; the related modern spelling whore is also commonly offensive when used literally and may be insulting or derogatory when used figuratively.
Easily confused with hore
Hore is an archaic spelling or form of whore; whore is the standard modern spelling and is also used in broader, often figurative senses.