definitions

quean

[ kween ]
/ kwin /
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noun

an overly forward, impudent woman; shrew; hussy.
a prostitute.
British Dialect. a girl or young woman, especially a robust one.

RELATED WORDS

tramp, whore, floozy, Jezebel, jade, slattern, minx, hussy, wench, hooker, harlot, bimbo, malkin

Nearby words

quazzy, qubba, qubit, qubyte, que., quean, queasy, quebec, quebec city, quebecer, quebecker

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 forms

quean·ish, adjectivequean·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for quean

British Dictionary definitions for quean

quean

/ (kwiːn) /

noun

archaic
  1. a boisterous, impudent, or disreputable woman
  2. 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