quean
- an overly forward, impudent woman; shrew; hussy.
- a prostitute.
- British Dialect. a girl or young woman, especially a robust one.
Origin of quean
Related Words for quean
tramp, whore, floozy, Jezebel, jade, slattern, minx, hussy, wench, hooker, harlot, bimbo, malkin, queanExamples from the Web for quean
Historical Examples of quean
Ye maun leave this quean—the like of her is ower light company for you.
Red GauntletSir Walter Scott
I must get rid of this quean as fast as I can; and I must see her safe.
The Fair Maid of PerthSir Walter Scott
There is many a quean in it, fairer than I twice told, and not spoiled with weeping.
The Cloister and the HearthCharles Reade
There is many a quean in it fairer than I twice told, and not spoiled with weeping.
The Cloister and the HearthCharles Reade
You come hither to steal my glasses, and then counterfeit you are going to your quean's.
quean
- archaic
- a boisterous, impudent, or disreputable woman
- a prostitute; whore
- Scot a young unmarried woman or girl
Word Origin for quean
Word Origin and History for 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.