whoreson

/ˈhɔːsən/

//ˈhɔːsən// noun

"whoreson" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“whoreson” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An illegitimate or misbegotten child born of unwed parents.

Corpus desk

Index EN-whoreson · whoreson · English

whoreson · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "W" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for whoreson
PropertyValue
Headwordwhoreson
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɔːsən/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “whoreson” in English

whoresonranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

whoreson is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈhɔːsən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for whoreson, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English horesone, hureson (also horessone, hores sone). Compare Dutch hoerenzoon, German Hurensohn (“whoreson”) and French fils de pute. By surface analysis, whore + son. The correct English form is whoreson, spelled W-H-O-R-E-S-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    An illegitimate or misbegotten child born of unwed parents.
  2. 2
    The son of a whore.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how whoreson appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Ah, you whoreſon loggerhead, you were borne to do me ſhame.
  2. Though this knave came something saucily to the world before he was sent for, yet was his mother fair, there was good sport at his making, and the whoreson must be acknowledged.

Etymology

From Middle English horesone, hureson (also horessone, hores sone). Compare Dutch hoerenzoon, German Hurensohn (“whoreson”) and French fils de pute. By surface analysis, whore + son.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "whoreson"?
"whoreson" is spelled W-H-O-R-E-S-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɔːsən/.
What does "whoreson" mean?
As a noun, "whoreson" means: An illegitimate or misbegotten child born of unwed parents.
How do you pronounce "whoreson"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "whoreson" is /ˈhɔːsən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "whoreson"?
From Middle English horesone, hureson (also horessone, hores sone). Compare Dutch hoerenzoon, German Hurensohn (“whoreson”) and French fils de pute. By surface analysis, whore + son. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list