Prostitutes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals providing sexual encounters in return for monetary payment
2. Those who perform sexual acts for clients in exchange for financial reward
3. Persons who engage in sexual activities with others in return for payment

Etymology: Before it named a trade, "prostitute" was a plain Latin verb meaning "to set up in public" or "to expose for sale." The Romans built it from "prō", meaning "for" or "before", and "statuō", meaning "to set up, to erect." The past participle "prōstitūtus" carried the sense of something put on display, and its literal picture is of goods or a person set out in front of others. The word reached English by way of Latin, where its meanings had already shifted toward offering oneself or one's wares to anyone who would pay. The core idea of public exposure stayed, and English applied it to people who sell sex. The plural "prostitutes" simply names more than one such person. It is the plural of "prostitute", which inherits its story from the Latin participle above.

Synonyms: sex workers, hookers