holour

Middle English

Etymology

Old French holier.

Noun

holour

1. A whoremonger.
   • late 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Wife of Bath's Tale, The Canterbury Tales, line 253-256:

     ‘And if that she be fair, thou verray knave,
     Thou seyst that every holour wol hir have;
     She may no whyle in chastitee abyde,
     That is assailled up-on ech a syde.’

     ‘And if she be fair, thou utter knave,
     Thou sayest that every lecher wants to have her;
     She can not remain chaste for any length of time,
     Who is assailed on every side.’

References

• “holour”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.