Editing Slut (section)

==Etymology, common usages and synonyms==
The common [[denotative meaning]]s of ''slut'' are 'sexually promiscuous woman',<ref name="Slut"/> or 'immoral or dissolute woman; prostitute'.<ref name="Slut 2"/> These definitions identify a slut as a woman of low character—a person who lacks the ability or chooses not to exercise a power of discernment to order her affairs. Similar terms used for men are ''cad'', ''[[rake (character)|rake]]'', ''male slut'', ''man whore'', ''[[himbo]]'', ''womanizer'', ''[[Stud (sexual slang)|stud]]'', and ''player''.<ref name="Paludi"/><ref name="Wood"/> The adjective ''slutty'' carries a similar connotation, but can be applied both to people and to clothing and accessories, such as [[Halloween costume]]s.<ref name="Carroll">{{cite news |last=Carroll |first=Caitlin |title=What's the deal with slutty Halloween costumes? |url=http://www.gwhatchet.com/2005/10/31/whats-the-deal-with-slutty-halloween-costumes/ |work=[[The GW Hatchet]] (student newspaper) |publisher=[[George Washington University]] |date=31 October 2005 |access-date=27 October 2015}}</ref>

Although the ultimate origin of the word ''slut'' is unknown, it first appeared in [[Middle English]] in 1402 as {{Lang|enm|slutte}} ([[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language|AHD]]), with the meaning of 'dirty, untidy, or slovenly woman'.<ref name="etymonline-slut">{{OEtymD|slut}}</ref> Even earlier, [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] used the word ''sluttish'' ({{circa|1386}}) to describe a slovenly man;<ref name="Tanenbaum">{{cite web |last1=Tanenbaum |first1=Leora |title=A Brief History Of 'Slut' |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-does-slut-mean-anyway_b_6594124 |website=HuffPost |access-date=17 January 2020 |language=en |date=2 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="Bennett">{{cite magazine |last1=Bennett |first1=Jessica |title=Monica Lewinsky and Why the Word Slut Is Still So Potent |url=https://time.com/3752821/monica-lewinsky-ted2015-slut-play/ |url-access=limited |magazine=Time |access-date=17 January 2020 |language=en |date=20 March 2015}}</ref><ref name="Manciple">{{cite web |title=From Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales", The Manciple's Tale, lines 139-154 |url=http://www.librarius.com/canttran/manctale/manctale139-154.htm |website=www.librarius.com |access-date=17 January 2020}}</ref><ref name="Yeoman's Prologue">{{cite web |title=The Canon's Yeoman's Prologue. The Canterbury Tales. Geoffrey Chaucer. 1894. The Complete Poetical Works |url=https://www.bartleby.com/258/44.html |website=www.bartleby.com |access-date=17 January 2020}}</ref> however, later uses appear almost exclusively associated with women.<ref name="etymonline-slut"/> The modern sense of 'sexually promiscuous woman' dates to at least 1450.<ref name="etymonline-slut"/>  The word was originally used around 1450 in the late Middle English language. It was used to describe a woman as dirty, or refer to her as a prostitute, harlot, or immoral woman.  The word ''slut'' also took a similar form around the same era in the Norwegian language as {{lang|no|slutr}} 'sleet', also known as an impure liquor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/slut |title=the definition of slut}}</ref>

Another early meaning was 'kitchen maid or drudge' ({{circa|1450}}), a meaning retained as late as the 18th century, when hard knots of dough found in bread were referred to as ''slut's pennies''.<ref name="etymonline-slut"/> An example of this use is [[Samuel Pepys]]'s diary description of his servant girl as "an admirable slut" who "pleases us mightily, doing more service than both the others and deserves wages better" (February 1664).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pepys.info/1664/1664feb.html |title=Samuel Pepys Diary February 1664 complete |publisher=Pepys.info |access-date=2012-08-27 |archive-date=1 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130101012755/http://www.pepys.info/1664/1664feb.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''Slut'' and ''slutishness'' occur in [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s comedy ''[[As You Like It]]'', written in 1599 or 1600.<ref>Shakespeare, William. ''[[As You Like It]]'' (III, iii, 1531–1537). "[Audrey:] Well, I am not fair; and therefore I pray the gods make me / honest. / [Touchstone:] Truly, and to cast away honesty upon a foul slut were / to put good meat into an unclean dish. / [Audrey:] I am not a slut, though I thank the gods I am foul. / [Touchstone:] Well, praised be the gods for thy foulness; / sluttishness may come hereafter.&nbsp;..."</ref> In the nineteenth century, the word was used as a [[euphemism]] in place of ''bitch'' in the sense of a female dog.<ref name="etymonline-slut"/><ref name="Soule">{{cite book |last=Soule |first=Richard |editor-last=Howison |editor-first=George H. |title=A dictionary of English synonymes and synonymous or parallel expressions designed as a practical guide to aptness and variety of phraseology |publisher=Little, Brown |location=Boston |year=1900 |edition=revised and enlarged |oclc=7437533 |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofengl00souluoft/page/49/mode/1up |page=49}}</ref>

Today, the term ''slut'' has a pervasive presence in popular culture and [[pornography]], but is almost exclusively used to describe women. An exact male equivalent of the term does not exist. The lack of a comparably popular term for men highlights the [[double standard]] in societal expectations ([[gender role]]s) between males and females, as negative terms for sexually promiscuous males are rare.<ref name="Wood"/><ref name="Sigal">{{cite book |last1=Sigal |first1=Janet A. |last2=Denmark |first2=Florence L. |author-link2=Florence Denmark |title=Violence against girls and women: international perspectives |publisher=Praeger |location=Santa Barbara, Calif |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-4408-0335-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/violenceagainstg0001unse/mode/1up |url-access=registration}}{{Page needed|date=January 2022}}</ref> Out of the 220 terms ascribed to females and 20 terms ascribed to males,<ref name="Paludi"/> all female terms are disapproving while some male terms signal approval or praise; these include ''stud'', ''player'', and ''man whore''.<ref name="Wood"/> While colloquial terms such as ''male slut'' or ''man whore'' are used in popular culture, they are usually used in a joking manner.<ref name=":0" /> There are, however, other terms that can be used to criticize men for their sexuality. For example, a man's masculinity can be undermined by using terms such as ''weak'', ''[[sissy]]'', ''[[pussy]],'' or ''whipped.'' They also dismiss female-on-male abuse, and are just as powerful and representative of modern societal prejudices. Hence, women may find it difficult to hold high positions at their workplace, whereas men may be mocked for choosing to be stay-at-home fathers. Although a sexually active and professionally successful woman might be seen as a threat, a man without those qualities is often regarded with suspicion and questions about his sexuality.<ref name="Devon">{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11159850/Is-there-a-male-equivalent-to-calling-a-woman-a-slut.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11159850/Is-there-a-male-equivalent-to-calling-a-woman-a-slut.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Is there a male equivalent to calling a woman a 'slut'? |last=Devon |first=Natasha |date=15 October 2014 |access-date=2 December 2016 |work=The Daily Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The word ''slut'' is commonly interchanged with the words ''[[Tramp#Meaning promiscuous woman|tramp]]'', ''whore'', ''hoe'', ''[[nympho]]'', and ''hooker.'' All of these words have a very negative connotation. Additional meanings and connotations of the term are negative and identify a slut as being a slovenly and ugly person, for example, as in these quotations from [[Oxford English Dictionary|OED2]]:

{{quote|Hearne, 1715: "Nor was she a Woman of any Beauty, but was a nasty Slut."}}
{{quote|[[William Shenstone|Shenstone]], 1765: "She's ugly, she's old, ...&nbsp;And a slut, and a scold."}}

The attack on the character of the person is perhaps best brought together by the highly suggestive and related compound word, ''slut's-hole'', meaning a place or receptacle for rubbish;<ref>{{Cite OED |term=slut's-hole |id=22331849 |url=}}</ref> the associated quote provides a sense of this original meaning:

{{quote|''[[Saturday Review (London)]]'', 1862: "There are a good many slut-holes in London to rake out."}}

''Slut'' can also be used as verb to denote behavior characterized as that of a slut. For example, in the 1972 play, ''[[That Championship Season]]'', by [[Jason Miller (playwright)|Jason Miller]], contained the exchange:

{{quote|<poem>COACH: I don't care what that hot pantsed bitch said. Go home and kick her ass all over the kitchen. All that slutting around...
GEORGE. She's not a slut...
COACH. She was punished for slutting, wasn't she? She was punished and so were you!<ref>[[Jason Miller (playwright)|Jason Miller]], ''[[That Championship Season]]'' (1972), p. 43.</ref></poem>}}