Prostituting

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To involve oneself in sexual relations for payment or favors
2. To utilize one's body for sexual services in return for financial or material rewards
3. Performing sexual activities in exchange for financial compensation or other benefits

Etymology: The verb "prostituting" is simply the present participle of "prostitute," so its history is the history of that base word. The root meaning is physical and literal: the Latin "prōstituō" combined "prō," meaning "for" or "before," with "statuō," "to set up" or "to erect." To prostitute something in Latin was to set it up publicly, displayed before others, which is why the past participle "prōstitūtus" carried the sense of something exposed or put on show. The shift from display to sex work happened within Latin itself, as the sense of exposing something for sale or use narrowed toward offering oneself for hire. English took the word from that later Latin sense, and the adjective and verb forms followed. The sense of debasing a talent or principle for personal gain, as in "prostituting one's skills" or "prostituting one's integrity," grew out of the same idea of offering something valuable for an unworthy return.

Synonyms: selling, trading