quean
[kween]
- an overly forward, impudent woman; shrew; hussy.
- a prostitute.
- British Dialect. a girl or young woman, especially a robust one.
Show More
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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for quean
Historical Examples
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
Show More
Word Origin
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
Word Origin and History for quean
n.
"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.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper