world's oldest profession

English

Alternative forms

• oldest profession in the world, oldest profession

Etymology

First appears c. 1888, coined by Rudyard Kipling as most ancient profession in the world. Alternative forms appeared in the early 1900s, present form popular by the 1930s. Similar terms with various senses (not necessarily prostitution) exist in other languages.

Pronunciation

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Noun

the world's oldest profession (plural not attested)

1. (euphemistic) Prostitution.
   • 1888, Rudyard Kipling, “On the City Wall”, in In Black and White (A. H. Wheeler & Co.’s Indian Railway Library; no. 3), 5th edition, Allahabad: Messrs. A. H. Wheeler & Co.; London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, […], published 1890, →OCLC:

     Lalun is a member of the most ancient profession in the world.

   • 1929, Agatha Christie, The Seven Dials Mystery:

     The company was extremely mixed. There were portly foreigners, opulent Jewesses, a sprinkling of the really smart, and several ladies belonging to the oldest profession in the world.

Translations

• Some local terms have slight variants while others are strict translations with varying degrees of usage.

euphemism for prostitution

• Arabic: ^{(please verify)} أَقْدَم مِهْنَة f (ʔaqdam mihna)
• Armenian: հնագույն մասնագիտություն (hnaguyn masnagitutʻyun)
• Azerbaijani: dünyanın ən qədim peşəsi
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: (literal translation) 世界上最古老的職業 / 世界上最古老的职业 (shìjiè shàng zuì gǔlǎo de zhíyè)

• Czech: nejstarší řemeslo n
• Danish: verdens ældste erhverv
• Dutch: het oudste beroep ter wereld n
• Estonian: maailma vanim amet
• Finnish: maailman vanhin ammatti
• French: le plus vieux métier du monde m
• Galician: o oficio máis vello do mundo
• Georgian: უძველესი პროფესია (uʒvelesi ṗropesia)
• German: das älteste Gewerbe der Welt (de) n
• Greek: το αρχαιότερο επάγγελμα n (archaiótero epángelma)
• Hebrew: המקצוע העתיק ביותר בעולם m (hamiktsóa haatík b'yotér ba'olám)
• Icelandic: elsta atvinnugreinin í heimi
• Italian: la professione più antica del mondo f
• Japanese: 世界最古の職業 (sekai saiko no shokugyō)
• Korean: 세계에서 가장 오래된 직업 (segyeeseo gajang oraedoen jigeop)
• Latvian: pasaules senākā profesija
• Lithuanian: seniausia pasaulio profesija f
• Luxembourgish: eelste Beruff vun der Welt
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: verdens eldste yrke n

• Polish: najstarszy zawód świata (pl) m
• Portuguese: a mais velha profissão do mundo f
• Romanian: cea mai veche profesie din lume f
• Russian: древне́йшая профе́ссия (ru) f (drevnéjšaja proféssija), древне́йшее ремесло́ f (drevnéjšeje remesló)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: најстарија професија на свету f

  Latin: najstarija profesija na svetu f

• Slovak: najstaršie remeslo n
• Slovene: najstarejši poklic m, najstarejši poklic na svetu m
• Spanish: la profesión más antigua del mundo f
• Swedish: världens äldsta yrke n
• Thai: (literal translation) อาชีพที่เก่าแก่ที่สุดในโลก
• Turkish: dünyanın en eski işi, dünyanın en eski mesleği
• Ukrainian: найда́вніша профе́сія f (najdávniša profésija)
• Vietnamese: gái làng chơi