† meretricatev.
Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin meretricat-, meretricari.
Etymology: < post-classical Latin meretricat-, past participial stem (compare -ate suffix3) of meretricari (in Vetus Latina and patristic writers; from 10th cent. in British sources in sense ‘to frequent a prostitute’, and from 12th cent. in the sense below) < classical Latin meretrīc- , meretrīx meretrix n. Compare Middle French meretricat the profession of a prostitute (1564), French meretriquer to frequent prostitutes (1611), Italian †meretricare (14th cent.). Compare earlier meretriculate v.
Obsolete.
rare. Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries.
1623 H. Cockeram Meretricate, to play the whore.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
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