An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Hure

by Friedrich Kluge

Hure, feminine, ‘whore,’ from Middle High German huore, Old High German huora, huorra (from *hôrjô, Gothic?), feminine; compare Anglo-Saxon and Middle English hôre, English whore, with an excrescent w), Dutch hoer, Old Icelandic hóra, feminine, ‘whore’; in Gothic hôrs, masculine, is ‘whoremonger’ (but kalki, feminine, ‘whore’). To these are allied Old High German huor, neuter, ‘adultery, fornication,’ Old Icelandic hôr, Anglo-Saxon hôr, neuter; probably also Middle High German herge, feminine, ‘whore’ (Gothic *harjô)?. The Teutonic root hôr- is related to Latin carus, ‘dear,’ Old Irish cara, ‘friend,’ and caraim, ‘I love.’ Its connection with Harn is less probable, although Greek μοιχός, ‘adulterer.’ is formed from ὀμειχεῖν, ‘mingere.’ In Slavonic-Lithuanian, too, words with cognate sounds are found in the sense of ‘whore.’ Old Slovenian kurŭva, feminine (Lithuanian kùrva, feminine), is perhaps derived from the Teutonic word.