In Roman mythology, according to Arnobius, Puta presided over the pruning of trees and was a minor goddess of agriculture.[1]
According to one version, the etymology of its name comes from Latin and its literal meaning is pruning. The festivities in honor of this goddess celebrated tree pruning, and these days, the priestesses manifested themselves exercising a sacred carousal (prostituted themselves) honoring the goddess (which would explain the current meaning of the word in many Latin-speaking countries).