The terms "prostitute" and "harlot" both refer to a person who performs sexual acts for money or for religious rites. Prostitutes or harlots were usually female, but some were male.
* The idiom "play the harlot" means to act like a harlot by being sexually immoral.
* In the Bible, God sometimes uses the word “prostitute” to figuratively refer to a person who worships false gods or who practices witchcraft.
* To "prostitute oneself" to something means to be sexually immoral or when used figuratively, to be unfaithful to God by worshiping false gods.
* In ancient times, some pagan temples used male and female prostitutes as part of their rituals.
* This term could be translated by the word or phrase that is used in the project language to refer to this kind of person. Some languages may have a euphemistic term that is used for this. (See: [[en/ta-vol2/translate/man/figs_euphemism]])