quean

American  

[kween] / kwin /

noun

1. Archaic. an overly forward, impudent woman; shrew; hussy.

2. Archaic. a prostitute.

3. British Dialect. Sometimes quine a girl or young woman, especially a robust one.

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quean British  

/ kwiːn /

noun

1. archaic

   1. a boisterous, impudent, or disreputable woman

   2. a prostitute; whore

2. a young unmarried woman or girl

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Other Word Forms

• queanish adjective
• queanlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of quean

First recorded before 1000; Middle English quene, Old English cwene; cognate with Middle Dutch quene, kone, Old Saxon, Old High German quena, Gothic qino, from unattested Germanic kwenōn-; akin to Old English cwēn “woman, queen” ( queen )

Example Sentences

Wench meant at first nothing worse than girl or daughter, quean than woman, hussy than housewife; even woman is generally felt to be half-slighting.

From The Century Vocabulary Builder by Bachelor, Joseph M. (Joseph Morris)

There forsooth the two women be missing, but no slain body of carle or quean have we found, nought of slaughter save the slaughter of kine and sheep.

From The Sundering Flood by Morris, May

Deil a wig has a provost of Fairport worn sin’ auld Provost Jervie’s time—and he had a quean of a servant-lass that dressed it hersel’, wi’ the doup o’ a candle and a dredging box.

From England in the Days of Old by Andrews, William

Oh, she was a canty quean, An' weel could dance the Hieland walloch!

From The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume I. The Songs of Scotland of the past half century by Rogers, Charles

And this mad quean, after cracking like a pen-gun, and skirling like a pea-hen for the haill night, behoves just to hae hadden her tongue when her clavers might have dune some gude!

From The Heart of Mid-Lothian, Volume 1 by Scott, Walter, Sir

Related Words

• tramp
• whore