Etymology

prostitute's pupil

Today it means: An Argyll Robertson pupil, a characteristic sign in syphilitic eye disease. Full definition →

Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

From the notional similarity in behaviour: both (the pupil and prostitute) accommodate but do not react. In the case of the pupil, it is reacting to light; and in the case of the latter, it is to the client.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.