Harlot

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William Hogarth's 1731 engraving of A Harlot's Progress is about a young woman, Mary Hackabout, who arrives in London from the country. Presumably she has come to look for work as a servant, but a procuress praises her beauty and suggests a more profitable occupation: prostitution.

A harlot is a prostitute. In modern usage, the word refers particularly to female prostitutes.

[edit] Etymology

In the past, the word harlot has been used to refer to a man. The word is first recorded in English in a work written around the beginning of the 13th century, meaning "a man of no fixed occupation, vagabond, beggar," and soon afterwards used to mean "male lecher." In the 14th century, it began to be used to refer to women. How this meaning developed from the male sense is not clear. For a time, the word could also refer to a juggler or jester of either sex, but by the close of the 17th century the word became exclusive to women.

[edit] In literature and popular culture

• The word "harlot" occurs 122 times in the New King James Version of the Bible.
• There is a reference to a harlot in the Iron Maiden song Charlotte The Harlot and is later mentioned in the song 22 Acacia Avenue (The Continuing Saga of Charlotte The Harlot).
• The song Beast and the Harlot by Avenged Sevenfold speaks of a harlot, possibly the one mentioned in Revelation 17.
• The band Behemoth has a song named The Harlot of the Saints which also mentions harlot.
• The band Sinergy mentions their interpretation of a harlot, and describes her, in the lyrics of their song The Bitch Is Back.
• US goth band The Wake has a song named "Harlot" in the album "Masked".
• In The Ballad of Eskimo Nell, Nell is described as a "harlot", although this is a misnomer, as she is not actually a prostitute.
• Channel 4 broadcast a programme entitled A Harlot's Progress in November 2006 describing the main part William Hogarth's life. [1][2]
• William Blake refers to " the youthful" harlot in his poem titled, "London".
• Oscar Wilde's poem "The Harlot's House" complains about strict Victorian sexual morale.
• In Arthur Miller's "The Crucible"; Reverend Hale states, "...and no man knows when the harlots' cry will end his life"

[edit] Notes and references

"The Crucible" by Arthur Miller

Look up harlot in
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Avenged Sevenfold has a song called "Beast and the Harlot"