meretriz

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin meretrīcem.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /me.ɾeˈtɾis/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /me.ɾeˈtɾis/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /me.ɾeˈtɾiʃ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɨ.ɾɨˈtɾiʃ/

• Hyphenation: me‧re‧triz

Noun

meretriz f (plural meretrizes)

1. hooker, whore, prostitute

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:prostituta

Related terms

• merecer
• merenda
• meretrício
• mérito

Further reading

• “meretriz”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “meretriz”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin meretrīcem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /meɾeˈtɾiθ/ [me.ɾeˈt̪ɾiθ] (Spain)
• IPA^(key): /meɾeˈtɾis/ [me.ɾeˈt̪ɾis] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -iθ (Spain)
• Rhymes: -is (Latin America, Philippines)
• Syllabification: me‧re‧triz

Noun

meretriz f (plural meretrices)

1. hooker, whore, prostitute

   Synonym: prostituta

   • 1885, Leopoldo Alas, chapter 1, in La Regenta, volume 1, published 2006, →ISBN:

     Pero, sin pensarlo, daba una intención lúbrica y cínica a su mirada, como una meretriz de calleja, que anuncia su triste comercio con los ojos, sin que la policía pueda reivindicar los derechos de la moral pública.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Further reading

• “meretriz”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024