An Exploration into Why the Word 'Hooker' Came to Describe Sex Workers

French Slang for Sex Workers

Two common French slang terms for sex workers, accrocheuse and raccrocheuse, share the root word accrocher, a French verb for “to hook.” You may also notice the root etymology for the craft term crochet in accrocher. The shared etymology in French and English of the more literal physical meaning of hooking something could point to that potentially being the ultimate source. In etymology, this would be studied under comparative etymology, which is looking at how two languages may share a familiar source of meaning. However, it is entirely possible that the definition traveled from English to French or vice versa via another source.

Interestingly, if the word hooker does come to English from French, it would not be the only word referring to a sex worker to do so. The slightly archaic but still used “harlot” for a sex worker is originally a French term. It is from Old French, of obscure origin, and was initially used to refer to vagabonds. By Middle French, it had come to be used to refer to lascivious men and women. From there, its use to refer to prostitutes wasn’t a massive jump and was established by the early 15th century.

Additional Common Names for Sex Workers

Sex work, or prostitution, is often called the world’s oldest profession. References can be found to female prostitutes as early as the 18th century BC in the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi. Prostitution has been documented in almost every culture and appears in many ancient and religious texts. The status of sex workers has varied dramatically throughout eras and cultures with some, like French courtesans and Japanese Oiran, having relatively high stature while others, including modern American sex workers, are seen as immoral lawbreakers. Common terms that have been used to refer to sex workers in American English include doxy, whore, trollop, strumpet, call-girl, escort, and street-walker.

Some of these terms, like escort and street-walker, have clear etymologies that refer to the real actions the workers undertake. Street-walkers are typically used to refer to sex workers that literally walk streets in neighborhoods or districts notorious for prostitution in an attempt to search out customers directly. Escort applies to the courtesan-like companionship services that many escort sex workers offer. In both cases, the etymology is obvious and easy to determine.

Words like doxy and strumpet have a more convoluted history. Doxy appears to have originated from a German word for doll, dokke. It originally referred to a rogue or vagabond’s female partner, but the meaning deteriorated over time to mean a sex worker. Strumpet has its roots in either Latin or Dutch, with arguments for both. Latin’s struprata is a form of the verb “to have illicit sexual relations with” while the Dutch strompen means to stride or stalk. Both could logically apply to sex work, but there are not clear enough textual sources for either to be declared correct. The complex etymology for the various words for sex worker shows just how complicated, convoluted, and confusing the field of etymology can be for only one word alone.

Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:

American Heritage – The Destruction Of Fighting Joe Hooker

Civil War Nuances – Did ‘Fighting Joe Hooker’s’ Nickname Come From A Printer’s Typo?

NBC News – Get to Know ‘Fighting Joe,’ Obama’s Pick for Top Military Officer

Chicago Tribune – Origins Of `Hooker’ Hooks More Than A Few Readers

History Daily – So That’s Why They’re Called Hookers!

History Collection – 10 Things That Prove Prostitution Has a Very Intriguing History

“Hooker (n.)” Etymology Online Dictionary staff. N.d.

“Harlot (n.)” Etymology Online Dictionary staff. N.d.

“Doxy (n.)” Etymology Online Dictionary staff. N.d.

“Strumpet (n.)” Etymology Online Dictionary staff. N.d.

Foot, Shelby. The Civil War: A Narrative. New York: Random House, 1974.