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View synonyms for quean

quean

[ kween ]

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.


quean

/ kwiːn /

noun

  1. archaic.
    1. a boisterous, impudent, or disreputable woman
    2. a prostitute; whore
  2. a young unmarried woman or girl
“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


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Other Words From

  • quean·ish adjective
  • quean·like adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of quean1

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 )
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Word History and Origins

Origin of quean1

Old English cwene; related to Old Saxon, Old High German quena, Gothic qino, Old Norse kona, Greek gunē woman. Compare queen
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Example Sentences

Call the quean up; if my men want shoe-thread, Ill swinge her in a stirrup.

You come hither to steal my glasses, and then counterfeit you are going to your quean's.

A subtle quean as any in this town, your neighbour here, dame Chat.Gammer.

"Only the pictur' o' some randy quean," his father answered, chucking away at the inanimate chin.

She went so far as to say, that it was a shame such a drunken quean should have a Christian burial.

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'quequeasy