whoremaster
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
These five terms occupy very different registers for overlapping concepts. 'Whoremaster' is the most offensive — it is an archaic slur that should be avoided in all modern contexts. 'John' is informal American slang for a prostitute's customer; it appears in crime reporting and social-work discussions but is not polite in formal conversation. 'Client of sex workers' is the neutral, respectful term used by NGOs, researchers, and public-health professionals. 'Lecher' is an old-fashioned but less offensive word for a man with uncontrolled sexual desire — it does not imply that money changes hands. 'Womanizer' is informal and judgmental but not a slur; it describes someone who pursues many partners without commitment. For example, a journalist would write 'clients of sex workers' in a report, but friends might call someone a 'womanizer' in private conversation — neither would use 'whoremaster' in any setting.
Etymology
Whoremaster was formed in Middle English (around the 1300s) by joining 'whore' (a prostitute, from Old English hōre) with 'master' (a person who controls or is expert at something, from Latin magister via Old French maistre). The compound originally meant 'a man who controls prostitutes' (a pimp), but by the 1600s its meaning had shifted to refer to a customer of prostitutes or a man excessively interested in sex. The modern word is now considered both archaic and highly offensive.