quean
[ kween ]
/ kwin /
noun
an overly forward, impudent woman; shrew; hussy.
a prostitute.
British Dialect. a girl or young woman, especially a robust one.
Origin of quean
before 1000; Middle English quene, Old English cwene; cognate with Middle Dutch quene, kone, Old Saxon, Old High German quena, Gothic qino < Germanic *kwenōn-; akin to Old English cwēn woman, queen
Related formsquean·ish, adjectivequean·like, adjective
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Examples from the Web for quean
British Dictionary definitions for quean
quean
/ (kwiːn) /
noun
archaic
- a boisterous, impudent, or disreputable woman
- a prostitute; whore
Scot a young unmarried woman or girl
Word Origin for quean
Old English cwene; related to Old Saxon, Old High German quena, Gothic qino, Old Norse kona, Greek gunē woman. Compare queen
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for quean
quean
"young, robust woman," Old English cwene "woman," also "female serf, hussy, prostitute" (cf. portcwene "public woman"), from Proto-Germanic *kwenon (cf. Old Saxon quan, Old High German quena, Old Norse kona, Gothic qino "wife, woman"); see queen. Popular 16c.-17c. in sense "hussy." Sense of "effeminate homosexual" is recorded from 1935, especially in Australian slang.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper