prostituten.
/ˈprɒstᵻtjuːt/, /ˈprɒstᵻtʃuːt/, U.S. /ˈprɑstəˌt(j)ut/ 1. † b. A boy kept by a man as a sexual partner; a catamite. Obsolete (but cf. sense 1c).
a. A woman who engages in sexual activity in return for payment, esp. as a means of livelihood; (formerly also) any promiscuous woman, a harlot.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > [noun] > a prostitute
meretrixOE
whoreOE
soiled dovea1250
common womanc1330
putec1384
bordel womanc1405
putaina1425
brothelc1450
harlot?a1475
public womanc1510
naughty pack?1529
draba1533
cat1535
strange woman1535
stew1552
causey-paikera1555
putanie?1566
drivelling1570
twigger1573
punka1575
hackney1579
customer1583
commodity1591
streetwalker1591
traffic1591
trug1591
hackster1592
polecat1593
stale1593
mermaid1595
medlar1597
occupant1598
Paphian1598
Winchester goose1598
pagan1600
hell-moth1602
aunt1604
moll1604
prostitution1605
community1606
miss1606
night-worm1606
bat1607
croshabell1607
prostitute1607
pug1607
venturer1607
nag1608
curtal1611
jumbler1611
land-frigate1611
walk-street1611
doll-common1612
turn-up1612
barber's chaira1616
commonera1616
public commonera1616
trader1615
venturea1616
stewpot1616
tweak1617
carry-knave1623
prostibule1623
fling-dusta1625
mar-taila1625
night-shadea1625
waistcoateera1625
night trader1630
coolera1632
meretrician1631
painted ladya1637
treadle1638
buttock1641
night-walker1648
mob?1650
lady (also girl, etc.) of the game1651
lady of pleasure1652
trugmullion1654
fallen woman1659
girlc1662
high-flyer1663
fireship1665
quaedama1670
small girl1671
visor-mask1672
vizard-mask1672
bulker1673
marmalade-madam1674
town miss1675
town woman1675
lady of the night1677
mawks1677
fling-stink1679
Whetstone whore1684
man-leech1687
nocturnal1693
hack1699
strum1699
fille de joie1705
market-dame1706
screw1725
girl of (the) town1733
Cytherean1751
street girl1764
monnisher1765
lady of easy virtue1766
woman (also lady) of the town1766
kennel-nymph1771
chicken1782
stargazer1785
loose fish1809
receiver general1811
Cyprian1819
mollya1822
dolly-mop1834
hooker1845
charver1846
tail1846
horse-breaker1861
professional1862
flagger1865
cocodette1867
cocotte1867
queen's woman1871
common prostitute1875
joro1884
geisha1887
horizontal1888
flossy1893
moth1896
girl of the pavement1900
pross1902
prossie1902
pusher1902
split-arse mechanic1903
broad1914
shawl1922
bum1923
quiff1923
hustler1924
lady of the evening1924
prostie1926
working girl1928
prostisciutto1930
maggie1932
brass1934
brass nail1934
mud kicker1934
scupper1935
model1936
poule de luxe1937
pro1937
chromo1941
Tom1941
pan-pan1949
twopenny upright1958
scrubber1959
slack1959
yum-yum girl1960
Suzie Wong1962
mattress1964
jamette1965
ho1966
sex worker1971
pavement princess1976
parlour girl1979
crack whore1990
1607 F. Beaumont Woman Hater iii. ii. sig. E2 My loue and dutie will not suffer mee To see you fauour such a prostitute... The woman you saw with me is a whore.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage viii. iv. 627 I haue seene houses as full of such prostitutes, as the schooles in France are full of children.
1664 J. Dryden Rival Ladies iv. iii. 53 She's an Infamous, leud Prostitute; I loath her at my Soul.
1721 G. Roussillon tr. R. A. de Vertot Hist. Rev. Portugal 136 The King..was for bringing half the prostitutes of Lisbon to prove his virility.
1768 O. Goldsmith Good Natur'd Man v. 64 Your friendship as common as a prostitute's favours.
1840 T. B. Macaulay Ranke's Hist. in Ess. (1887) 591 A prostitute, seated on a chair of state in the chancel of Nôtre Dame.
1888 S. Moore tr. K. Marx & F. Engels Manifesto Communist Party ii. 20 Our bourgeois, not content with having the wives and daughters of their proletarians at their disposal, not to speak of common prostitutes, take the greatest pleasure in seducing each other's wives.
1938 F. D. Sharpe Sharpe of Flying Squad x. 116 Prostitutes and their protectors were roped into the stations by the dozen.
1997 Neon Sept. 72/2 He had fallen foul of a local law that stated that club owners were liable for pimping if a prostitute was found on their premises.
2004 H. Kennedy Just Law (2005) ix. 203 In the last few years I have represented several prostitutes who have been caught up in the trafficking of sex workers.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual orientation > homosexuality > [noun] > a homosexual person > male > boy or youth
bardash1550
catamite?1552
Ganymede1558
ingle1592
ningle1602
Ganymedean1603
pathic1605
prostitute1654
love-boy1655
punk1698
chicken1914
tart1935
bumboy1937
mo1968
1654 R. Codrington tr. Justinus Hist. xxx. 380 Her Brother Agathocles, (a prostitute [L. scorto] of an aspiring comeliness).
1654 R. Codrington tr. Justinus Hist. xxx. 380 Agathocles the Prostitute being joined to the side of the King, did govern the city.
1697 Ess. Towards Gen. Hist. Whoring 252 During his Youth he resided at Caprea, amongst Tiberius's Catamites, insomuch that he was branded with the Sirname of Male Prostitute.
1755 W. Guthrie tr. Cicero Offices iii. i. 249 (note) The Prostitute here spoken of, was a Male; whom Flaminius was passionately, and infamously fond of.
c. A man who engages in sexual (esp. homosexual) activity in return for payment. Frequently as male prostitute (see male prostitute at male adj. and n.1 Compounds 1a).
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > [noun] > male prostitute
sellary1598
spintry1598
varlet1609
whore1609
prostitute1761
renter1893
trade1919
pimp1942
call boy1943
rent1967
rent boy1969
tart1976
1761 J. Hanway Lett. Customs Foreign Nations Harlots ii. 8 To one female, there are a dozen male prostitutes, who never think at all of accounting for such sins.
1792 Evils Adultery & Prostitution 34 The rake and the male prostitute, is at least not disgusted with masculine manners.
1877 Bismarck (Dakota Territory) Tri-Weekly Tribune 17 Aug. 1/2 The female gambler and the male prostitute.
1948 A. C. Kinsey et al. Sexual Behavior Human Male vi. 216 Some male prostitutes ejaculate five, six, or more times per day with regularity over long periods of years.
1958 L. Durrell Balthazar vii. 157 A magnificent-looking male prostitute whose oiled curls hung down his back and whose eyes and lips were heavily painted.
1967 Listener 1 June 718/2 Few of them ever told me what they were in for, though in the case of Ralph, a male prostitute known to the wing as Suzanne, it was only too obvious.
1993 J. Green It: Sex since Sixties 115 Tony Whitehead runs Streetwise, a centre for young gay prostitutes—‘rent boys’.
2. figurative and in extended use.† a. A person entirely or abjectly devoted to another; a ‘slave’. Cf. prostitute v. 2a. Obsolete. rare. In early examples apparently without pejorative connotations.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > [noun] > one who loves > devotee
worshipperc1450
votary1594
prostitute1624
devote1630
devotist1641
devotee1669
devotionary1671
devil1690
devoté1728
votarist1806
nut1915
addict1919
head1960
the mind > emotion > humility > servility > [noun] > servile person
clienta1393
snivelard1398
a dog for (also to) the bowc1405
fawnerc1440
snivellerc1450
slave1521
footstool1531
minion1560
footman1567
cringer1582
earthworm1583
yea-sayer1584
croucher1587
creeper1589
sneak-up1598
spaniel1598
sneak-cupa1616
servile1632
puppy dog1651
clientelary1655
lackey1692
groveling1708
prostite1721
prostitute1721
toad-eater1742
groveller1779
cringeling1798
creeping Jesusc1818
toady1826
truckler1827
crawler1847
flunkey1854
doormat1861
dog robber1863
heeler1875
slaveling1884
bootlicker1890
fetch-and-carry1905
poodle1907
yes-woman1927
ass-licker1939
ass-kisser1951
chamcha1966
fart-catcher1971
1624 A. Darcie in tr. Originall of Idolatries sig. A3 Your Highnes most Humble and deuoted prostitute, Ab. Darcie.
1628 J. Clavell Recantation of Ill Led Life sig. A2v Your Maiesties most humbly deuoted prostitute .Iohn Clauell.
1721 N. Amhurst Terræ-filius No. 45 (1754) 241 All this did not satisfy the revengeful president, and the abandon'd prostitutes, his creatures.
b. A person who acts in a debased or corrupt way for profit or advantage; a person who undertakes any demeaning or dishonourable act, office, or connection for personal gain.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > lack of magnanimity or noble-mindedness > [noun] > mercenariness > person
mercenaryc1387
hireling1574
prostitute1680
spoilsman1850
society > authority > rule or government > politics > discreditable political activity > [noun] > one engaged in
politico1630
job hunter1834
middleman1845
snollygoster1846
prostitute1889
1680 N. Lee Theodosius Epil. 61 So should wise Poets sooth an awkward Age, For they are Prostitutes upon the Stage.
1693 J. Dryden tr. Persius Satires i. 7 Base Prostitute [L. vetule], thus dost thou gain thy Bread? Thus dost thou feed their Ears, and thus art fed?
1751 Polite Politician 235 Hence, ye Prophane! ye worst of Prostitutes! ye Betrayers of your Country!
1804 J. Currie in H. Maxwell Creevey Papers (1904) I. i. 30 He [sc. Lord Brougham] is a notorious prostitute, and is setting himself up to sale.
1889 G. B. Shaw Let. 31 Aug. (1965) I. 223 The radical who writes conservative articles is considered a prostitute.
1980 C. Fitz Gibbon Rat Rep. vi. 122 You damned us..for turning scientists into military prostitutes.
2002 Western Mail (Cardiff) (Nexis) 8 Oct. 2 [He] said that after the Lib Dems had refused to rule out considering a coalition with Plaid Cymru..they had shown themselves to be the ‘prostitutes of Welsh politics’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
prostituteadj.
/ˈprɒstᵻtjuːt/, /ˈprɒstᵻtʃuːt/, U.S. /ˈprɑstəˌt(j)ut/ I. Dishonoured, debased, prostituted.† 1. Debased or debasing; corrupt, meretricious; seeking personal gain or advantage by immoral or dishonourable means; (as past participle) prostituted. Obsolete.In origin probably a figurative use of sense 2, although first recorded slightly earlier.† 3.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > degrading or debasement > [adjective] > degraded > by unworthy use
prostitute1563
prostituted1579
1563 J. Man tr. W. Musculus Common Places Christian Relig. f. 43 These prostitute images openly sette up in Churches doe this harme, that they doe withdrawe mennes mindes..from the consideration of God's maiestie shewed in his liuely Creatures.
1626 J. Mede Let. 3 June in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. III. 229 We might..draw a general contempt and hatred upon the University as men of most prostitute flattery.
1710 J. Swift Tale of Tub (ed. 5) Apol. sig. A3v Illiterate Scriblers, prostitute in their Reputations, vicious in their Lives, and ruin'd in their Fortunes.
1788 A. Hamilton in A. Hamilton et al. Federalist II. lxvii. 226 So shameless and so prostitute an attempt to impose on the citizens of America.
1791 T. Paine Rights of Man i. 129 [Edmund Burke] speaks a language that merits not reply, and which can only excite contempt for his prostitute principles.
1804 Times 2 Mar. 2/3 It was undoubtedly to disgust the Volunteers, and to induce them to disband, and thus to leave the country open to the enemy, whose presence, we are satisfied, would be a matter of rejoicing to those prostitute writers.
2. In early use: relating to or engaging in promiscuous sexual activity; licentious, abandoned. Later (usually as an attributive use of prostitute n. 1a): of or belonging to a prostitute; that is a prostitute.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > [adjective]
golec888
canga1225
light?c1225
wooinga1382
nicea1387
riota1400
wantonc1400
wrenec1400
lachesc1450
loose?a1500
licentious1555
libertine1560
prostitute1569
riggish1569
wide1574
slipper1581
slippery1586
sportive1595
gay1597
Cyprian1598
suburb1598
waggish1600
smicker1606
suburbian1606
loose-living1607
wantona1627
free-living1632
libertinous1632
loose-lived1641
Corinthian1642
akolastic1656
slight1685
fast1699
freea1731
brisk1740
shy1787
slang1818
randomc1825
fastish1832
loosish1846
slummya1860
velocious1872
fly1880
slack1951
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > [adjective] > given over to prostitution
prostituted1565
prostitute1569
unfortunate1785
1569 T. Norton To Queenes Deceiued Subj. sig. Di Remember that which you daily see, the vanities, the doltishnesse, the borrowings without caring to pay, the prostitute abuse without regard of chastitie.
1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Mviiv Men, wemen & children, are so skilful in this laudable science, as they maye be thought nothing inferiour to Cynœdus, ye prostitut ribauld.
1614 T. Overbury et al. Characters in Wife now Widdow (4th impr.) sig. Fv She baites her desires with a million of prostitute countenances, and enticements.
a1641 R. Montagu Acts & Monuments (1642) 265 Detesting as he said the insatiable impudency of a prostitute Stale.
1706 tr. J. B. Morvan de Bellegarde Refl. upon Ridicule 155 Women of a prostitute Character.
1756 C. Smart tr. Horace Satires i. iv, in tr. Horace Wks. (1826) II. 39 His dissolute son, mad after a prostitute mistress, refuses a wife with a large portion.
1854 N.Y. Daily-Times 19 Apr. 2/4 The desperate prostitute woman, the ignorant ruffian, the filthy and lying beggar, curse thousands who never knew them or saw them.
1880 Times 28 Dec. 5/5 Of these 235 habitual opium-eaters, 169 were females—i.e., about 3 to 1; and of these about one-third were of the prostitute class.
1970 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 28 June 25 en/3 The prostitute girl friend of scientist protagonist Felix Charlock.
1991 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 29 Nov. a15/4 The use of possession of condoms to prosecute prostitute women undermines women's efforts to protect their health.
a. As past participle: given over, exposed, or subjected (to something corrupting or shameful). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > operation upon something > [adjective] > involving subjection to action or influence > able or liable to be affected
subjectablea1382
subject1549
occurrent1566
obnoxious1572
prostitute1591
liable1593
incident1603
patible1603
susceptible1605
obvious1609
recipient1610
affectable1611
susceptive1637
receptivea1676
ticklish1681
subjectiblea1732
vacant1751
timid1764
susceptible1883
impressionable1889
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > [adjective] > that does something habitually > given or addicted to something
given1487
addict1530
addicted1546
apt?1550
prostitute1591
hooked (on)1925
1591 H. Barrow Plaine Refut. Giffardes Bk. ii. 59 Thus by Mr Giffards diuinitie may the bodie and bloude of Christ be prostitute to the open prophane and wicked.
1603 M. Drayton Barrons Wars i. xxvi. 10 Honour deiected from that soueraigne state..Now prostitute to infamy and hate.
1610 J. Healey tr. J. L. Vives in tr. St. Augustine Citie of God iii. xv. 128 Neither can the Moone be eclipsed but at her ful, and in her farthest posture from the sunne: then is she prostitute to obnubilation.
1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 218 To serve one man, a stranger, and prostitute to all manner of licentiousnesse.
1651 T. Hobbes Philos. Rudim. sig. A12 As a matter of ease, exposed and prostitute to every Mother-wit, and to be attained without any great care or study.
1661 tr. Erasmus Life Colet in tr. J. Colet Serm. Conform. & Reform. 64 The Deans table which..had..been too much prostitute to excess, he reduced to frugality.
1796 G. L. Way tr. P. J.-B. Legrand d'Aussy Fabliaux I. 62 Who sees these gifts he wills long time remain Sought by true hearts with aspiration vain, With suppliant sighs, with looks deject and pale, Here, prostitute to all, a general stale.
b. Common, vulgar, or hackneyed. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > [adjective] > usual or ordinary > commonplace
quotidian1430
trite1548
beaten1587
trivial1589
threadbare1598
protrite1604
prose1606
commonplace1616
everyday1628
prostitute1631
prosaical1699
tritical1709
prosaic1729
tritish1779
hack1821
rum-ti-tum1832
unspecial1838
banal1840
commonplacish1847
prosy1849
inventionless1887
thread-worn1888
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > degrading or debasement > [adjective] > degraded > by familiarity
cheap1597
prostitute1631
1631 B. Jonson New Inne Ode to Himself Leaue things so prostitute, And take the Alcaick Lute.
1652 H. L'Estrange Americans No Iewes 19 This is so cheap and prostitute a custome all the World over.
1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. II. xxxviii. 318 Yet was not the gracious reception which she gave prostitute and undistinguishing.
4. Lying before someone: perhaps confused with prostrate adj. (Cf. prostitute n. 2a and prostitute v. 3.) Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > humility > self-abasement > [adjective] > self-abased
prostratec1390
enclinc1400
prostitute1621
self-abased1668
self-abandoned1688
the world > space > relative position > posture > action or fact of lying down or reclining > [adjective] > prostrate or face down
nueleOE
prostratec1390
gryfelya1450
prone1610
prostitute1621
ventricumbent1882
1621 F. Quarles Hadassa K iv b Once more the Queen prefers an earnest suit, Her humble Body lowly prostitute Before his Royal feet.
a1648 Ld. Herbert Life Henry VIII (1649) 565 I your most humble Subject prostitute at your foot, do most humbly beseech your Highness to be my good and gracious Lord.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
prostitutev.
/ˈprɒstᵻtjuːt/, /ˈprɒstᵻtʃuːt/, U.S. /ˈprɑstəˌt(j)ut/ I. To debase, dishonour, or put for sale.
1. † c. transitive. To seduce (a woman); to use as a prostitute. Obsolete. rare.
a. transitive. To offer for sex, indiscriminately or in return for payment; to put to work as a prostitute. Frequently reflexive: (of a woman) to act in a licentious or promiscuous manner; (now esp.) to work as a prostitute. In quot. 1530 with reflexive object understood.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > [verb (transitive)] > offer for prostitution
prostitue1530
prostitute1530
bewhorea1626
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 668/1 I prostytute, as a comen woman dothe her self in a bordell house, je prostitue.
1576 R. Robinson tr. F. Patrizi Moral Methode Ciuile Policie iv. 37 Shee outraged so farre in dissolute lyuinge, that shee prostituted her body to all men.
1605 B. Jonson Sejanus i. i. 214 He prostituted his abused bodie To that great Gourmond, fat Apicius; And was the noted Pathike of the time. View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) Lev. xix. 29. Doe not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore. View more context for this quotation
1653 R. Saunders Physiognomie i. 59 She is an Adulteress, impudent, prostitutes her self publiquely.
1701 G. Stanhope tr. St. Augustine Pious Breathings 122 Impudently prostituting thy self to the lust of seducing Strangers.
1788 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall (1869) II. xlii. 563 He recovered his liberty by prostituting the honour of his wife.
1856 Times 5 May 10/3 A lady who had received a gentle and religious rearing and who was married to a gentleman of suitable station and age..had prostituted herself in this most shameless and reckless manner.
a1894 R. L. Stevenson In South Seas (1896) i. v. 45 The really decent women of Samoa prostituted themselves in public to the French.
1941 G. Legman in G. W. Henry Sex Variants II. 1177 Heterosexuals to whom homosexuals prostitute themselves.
1990 A. Leonard Gate-crashing Dream Party (BNC) 32 They'd imagine me prostituting myself, or on the hard stuff.
b. intransitive. To act or behave as a prostitute; (now esp.) to work as a prostitute, engage in sexual activity for payment. rare.figurative in earliest use (quot. 1631).
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society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > [verb (intransitive)] > practise prostitution
to walk the street(s)1530
to play the harlot (formerly also harlots)1535
whore1547
strumpc1550
strumpet1627
prostitute1631
to be (also to go) on (or upon) the street(s)1754
hustle1930
ho1972
tom1981
1631 T. Powell Tom of All Trades 5 Before it have defiled the bed of its reputation by prostituting to the adulterous imbracings of a Citie Scrivener.
1938 X. Herbert Capricornia (1939) xi. 157 She joined her black sisters in prostituting to the fettlers and the passengers of trains.
1997 New Yorker 29 Sept. 45/1 We don't tell kids to stop using drugs and we don't tell kids to stop prostituting.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > loss of chastity > deprive of chastity [verb (transitive)] > a woman > bring to condition of whore
forwhorec1175
harlotize1589
whore1604
strumpet1608
prostitute1658
bejade?1706
1658 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 2nd Pt. 30 It were a hard work for the adulterer to convince her, he would prostitute, that the fact is lawful.
1890 M. Davitt in Echo 11 Dec. 3/2 [He] will not succeed in prostituting the Irish cause as easily as he prostituted the wife of his friend.
2. In extended uses.† a. transitive. (Without pejorative connotations.) To offer with complete devotion or self-negation; to devote to. Obsolete.† c. transitive. To expose or subject to something injurious, evil, etc. Obsolete.† d. transitive. To expose to shame; to expose in a degrading manner to public view or for public sale. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > morally elevated quality > unselfishness > unselfish [verb (transitive)] > offer with complete self-negation
prostitute?c1550
?c1550 tr. P. Vergil Eng. Hist. (1846) I. vii. 255 And here mie selfe am preste and readie ether to prostitute mie bodie as a sacrifice for mie realme, or to throwe mie selfe into the middeste of mine enemies.
1611 B. Rich Honestie of Age (1844) 12 I doe honour them, and I doe prostitute my selfe for euer to doe them humble seruice.
a1677 I. Barrow Serm. Several Occasions (1678) 342 If God should in requital exact, that we..adventure our health, and prostitute all our earthly contents to his service.
b. transitive. (In negative sense.) To sacrifice or debase for some profit or advantage; to put (oneself or one's talents) to an unworthy or corrupt use for personal or financial gain; to defile, dishonour, profane. Occasionally intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > degrading or debasement > degrade [verb (transitive)] > degrade by unworthy use
prostitute1593
profane1643
1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares 38 Thou hadst a Prophecie that thy Sanctuary should not be prostituted.
1610 G. Fletcher Christs Victorie iii. xiii. 50 Whear Eue to sinne her soule did prostitute.
1681 H. Neville Plato Redivivus 64 Certain Wits, who prostituted the noble flame of Poetry..to flatter the Lust and Ambition of the Roman Tyrants.
1704 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion III. x. 72 This Argumentation..made a great impression upon all Men who had not prostituted themselves to Cromwell, and his Party.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall II. xix. 127 Posides,..in whose favour the emperor prostituted some of the most honourable rewards of military valour.
1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 30 Israel, being wedded to God, estranged herself from Him..and prostituted herself to her idols.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People vii. §1. 340 Justice was prostituted in the ordinary courts to the royal will.
1882 Atchison (Kansas) Globe 18 Apr. If the parson would turn his entire attention to milking and churning, and quit prostituting with the whisky men, his chances for heaven would be much improved.
1922 W. H. Ukers All about Coffee xxviii. 437 The most conspicuous offender..found a goodly number of pseudo-physicians and bright advertising minds that were quite willing to prostitute their finest talents to aid him in attacking an honorable business.
1990 Photography Mar. 17/2 Robinson has shown the character of a grand building being prostituted by modern decorating and furnishing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > operation upon something > have effect on [verb (transitive)] > subject to action or operation > to destructive agency
prostitute1607
1607 G. Markham Cavelarice ii. Ded. sig. N2v To publish my rude collections, and prostitute to your censurings the depth of my knowledge.
1683 Britanniæ Speculum Pref. 7 [That] would prostitute the Lives of all his fellow Subjects to the Arbitrary Power of any prevailing Faction.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > disgrace or dishonour > [verb (transitive)] > subject or expose to ignominy
bauchle1488
swinge1546
prostitute1613
post1642
gibbet1646
pillory1699
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage iii. i. 192 The women couer their faces, contented to see with one eye, rather then to prostitute the whole face.
1658 G. Starkey Natures Explic. 68 Are not now all vulgar preparations of Minerals, prostituted in every Apothecaries shop?
a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 322 To vail their Faces from public View, only to avoid prostituting the Majesty of their Persons to common Eyes.
3. transitive (reflexive and in passive). = prostrate v. 4 (sometimes with overtones of sense 2). Cf. prostitute adj. 4. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > horizontal position or condition > place in horizontal position [verb (transitive)] > lay flat (on the ground)
layc950
lairc1200
streek1303
to lay lowc1405
prostrate1483
prostern1490
spald1513
prostitute1583
prosternate1593
lodge1597
flatten1712
society > faith > worship > other practices > carry out other practices [verb (reflexive)] > kneel, bow, or prostrate oneself
prostratec1425
prostern1490
prostitute1583
the world > space > relative position > posture > action or fact of lying down or reclining > lie down or recline [verb (reflexive)] > prostrate
prostratec1425
prostern1490
prostitute1583
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > respect > reverence > [verb (reflexive)] > prostrate oneself in reverence
prostratec1425
prostern1490
humiliate1533
prostitute1583
society > authority > subjection > obedience > submissiveness > submission > submit [verb (reflexive)] > perform act of submission
prostratec1425
prostern1490
prostitute1583
1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus (new ed.) Ff 2 Philotimus in due time prostituting himselfe before his feete.
1624 A. Darcie tr. Originall of Idolatries xv. 61 Prostituting themselues before the Images.
1662 J. Chandler tr. J. B. van Helmont Oriatrike xvii. 94 Places wherein the Quellem is immediately prostituted [L. substernitur] beneath the Clay.
1725 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote IV. ix. 69 He flung himself from his Horse, and with great Humility, went to prostitute [1620 prostrate] himself before the Lady Teresa.
1757 Centinel 21 Apr. 96 If our prayers are excluded from the royal ear..let us put on sackcloth and ashes, and prostitute ourselves before the throne of a yet more powerful sovereign.
1793 Rep. Dispositions Brit. towards France 7 The most disgusting idolatry of Royalty was displayed... Even Members in the Opposition..did not blush to prostitute themselves before a corrupt Minister.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1607
adj.1563v.1530- semi-saxon
- semi-scale
- semi-schematic
- semi-scholastic
- semi-scientific
- semi-seafaring
- semi-secrecy
- semi-secret
- semi-segment
- semi-semi-
- semi-senior
- semi-sentence
- semi-separatist
- semi-septate
- semi-sequitur
- semi-serious
- semi-servile
- semi-sessile
- semi-sexfid
- semi-sextile
- semi-shade
- semi-shady
- semi-shaft
- semi-shaven
- semi-simious