Etymograph

English

putanism

Putanism comes from French putanisme ‘prostitution’, from putain ‘harlot’, and ultimately from Latin pūta ‘girl’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūta1‘girl’
  2. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEpūtta1‘prostitute’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400pute1‘dirty woman’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400putain1‘whore, prostitute, bitch’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentputain2‘harlot’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentputanisme2‘prostitution’
  7. Englishtodayputanism2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, French putain
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English putanism

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūtaWiktionary, French putain‘girl’
  2. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEpūttaWiktionary, French putain‘prostitute’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400puteWiktionary, French putain‘dirty woman’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400putainWiktionary, French putain‘whore, prostitute, bitch’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentputainWiktionary, English putanism‘harlot’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentputanismeWiktionary, English putanism‘prostitution’
  7. EnglishtodayputanismWiktionary, English putanism

Linked words

through Old French putain ‘whore, prostitute, bitch’

put, 3 more

Today it means

noun prostitution; harlotry.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “putanism”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for French putain. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin pūta / putanism

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