Kedeshah

Sacred Prostitution - Ancient Near East - In The Hebrew Bible
... for prostitute, zonah (זנה)‎ and qedesha or kedeshah (קדשה)‎ ... But the word kedeshah literally means "consecrated (feminine form)", from the Semitic root q-d-sh (קדש)‎ meaning "holy" or "set apart" ... Whatever the cultic significance of a kedeshah to a follower of the Canaanite religion, the Hebrew Bible makes it clear that cultic prostitution had no place in Yahwism ...

Q-D-Š - Hebrew
... Kedeshah, (קדשה), one of two different words for prostitute (see sacred prostitution) used in the Hebrew Bible, also derives from the Q-D-Š root ... the word zonah (זנה) simply meant an ordinary prostitute or loose woman, whereas the word kedeshah literally means "consecrated female" ... Whatever the cultic significance of a kedeshah to the Canaanites, who used it to refer to a female deity whose identity is a matter of debate, the ...