quean

[ kween ]

/ kwin /

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noun

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

Archaic. a prostitute.

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

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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” (see queen)

OTHER WORDS FROM quean

quean·ish, adjectivequean·like, adjective

Words nearby quean

quazzy, qubba, qubit, qubyte, 'que, quean, queasy, Quebec, Quebec City, Quebecer, Quebecker

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use quean in a sentence

Call the quean up; if my men want shoe-thread, Ill swinge her in a stirrup.
The Mermaid Series. Edited by H. Ellis. The best plays of the old dramatists. Thomas Dekker. Edited, with an introduction and notes by Ernest Rhys.|Thomas Dekker
You come hither to steal my glasses, and then counterfeit you are going to your quean's.
A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 10 (of 15)|Various
A subtle quean as any in this town, your neighbour here, dame Chat.Gammer.
Gammer Gurton's Needle|Mr. S. Mr. of Art
"Only the pictur' o' some randy quean," his father answered, chucking away at the inanimate chin.
Bob, Son of Battle|Alfred Ollivant

She went so far as to say, that it was a shame such a drunken quean should have a Christian burial.
Tales And Novels, Volume 2 (of 10)|Maria Edgeworth

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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

quean

Origin of quean

OTHER WORDS FROM quean

Words nearby quean

Words related to quean

How to use quean in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for quean

Word Origin for quean