English → Latin
“prostitute” in Latin
meretrīxa female prostitute or courtesanscortumharlot, prostitute (of either sex); animal skin stripped off, hide, fell, peltprōstibulumprostitute, whore; brothellupashe-wolf; prostitute, bitchpūblicōto seize, to confiscate, to make public property, to nationalize; to make public, to let be known in the public, to publdehonestōto disgrace, dishonor, disparagedēdecorōto disgrace, dishonorpudīcitiachastity, virtue; shamefacedness, modestyfidēsfaith; belief (belief without empirical evidence, direct experience, or observation); reliance (act of relying on or truiūs iūranduman oath
The English word prostitute itself goes back to Latin prō, through prōstitūtus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
prostitute s.
meretrix; scortum; meritorium scortum (one who prostitutes herself for pay; scortum, a lower, more dissolute meretrix; but both these are above prostibula and lupae): prostibulum: mulier omnibus proposita: scortum vulgare: meretrix vulgatissima (common prostitute): mulier quae domum omnium libidinibus patefecit; also, quaestuaria (sc. mulier, Sen., who lives by the wages of prostitution). The son of a common prostitute, ex vulgato corpore genitus: to turn a common prostitute, plane se in vita meretricia collocate: to be or lead the life of a (common) prostitute, corpus vulgo publicare (Plaut.): vita institutoque esse meretricio: meretricio more vivere: se omnibus pervulgare: pudicitiam in propatulo habere (Sall.).
prostitute v.
PROP., publicare (e.g., corpus, pudicitiam).
Figuratively, dehonestare; dedecorare; also by habere se venalem, or habere venalia; e.g., omnia habet venalia, fidem, jusjurandum, veritatem, officium (Cic. Verr., 3, 62, 144).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for prostitute?
- The usual Latin words for “prostitute” are meretrīx, scortum, prōstibulum; also lupa, pūblicō, dehonestō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.