Added 9 October 2026
queer
/kwɪə/ noun
Latin root: torqueō Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about queer at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Offensive term for a homosexual man.
verb
-
Hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of.
What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge
- Put in a dangerous, disadvantageous, or difficult position.
adjective
Origin
Attested since about 1510, at first in Scots. Usually taken to be from Middle Low German (Brunswick dialect) queer (“oblique, off-centre”) or the related German quer (“diagonal”), from Old Saxon thwerh, from Proto-West Germanic *þwerh, from Proto-Germanic *þwerhaz, from Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- (“to turn, twist, wind”); compare Latin torqueō, and see more at thwart. The OED argues against this due to the semantic differences and the date at which the word appears in Scots. Began to be used to describe gay people in the late 1800s; see usage notes for more.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)