etymology · 1200s–1300s
harlot
Drift #13 · May 25, 2026 · profession
Meaning comparison
Today it means
a prostitute
It used to mean (1200s–1300s)
a male vagabond; an itinerant entertainer; a rogue
Etymology
'Harlot' comes from Old French 'herlot' — a man of no fixed abode, a rascal, a vagabond. The word was masculine for centuries. It shifted toward female use in the 1300s as it acquired associations with loose morality, eventually narrowing to its modern meaning.
The Drift
How the meaning shifted over time
the drift
In Historical Context
A band of harlots passed through the village — jugglers and acrobats who performed tricks in the square and slept in the ditch.
drift fact
In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, characters are called 'harlot' as a mild term for a knave — no sexual connotation intended.
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