queer en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /kwiɹ/ (Scotland)
- /kwɪɹ/ (General-American)
- /kwɛː/ East Anglia, cheer–chair merger
- (US) audio
- /kwɪə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /kwiə̯/ (New-Zealand)
Etymology
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.
Meanings
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(colloquial, derogatory, sometimes) Homosexual.
This is a one-shot thing we got goin’ on here. […] You know I ain’t queer.
2005, Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana, directed by Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain, spoken by Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger):“Such a Momma’s boy.” The old men had started up again—or perhaps they had never stopped. “No matter who he schtupped. Even Marilyn. I wouldn’t be surprised he was queer.” / “Strange, yes. Weird, yes. Queer, I don’t think.”
1979, Michael Nickolay, chapter 9, in Brother & Sister: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: J. B. Lippincott Company, →ISBN, page 100:
- (colloquial, derogatory, sometimes) Non-heterosexual or non-cisgender: homosexual, bisexual, asexual, transgender, etc.
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(broadly) Pertaining to sexual or gender behaviour or identity which does not conform to conventional heterosexual or cisgender norms, assumptions etc.
Historically, this has meant that queer sexuality—defined here not literally or only as same-gender desire but as "the sex of others," meaning any sexuality outside the bounds of the reproductive, white, and genitally oriented—is often positioned against and even as toxic to "nature".
2022, Marisol Cortez, “Ambivalent Anality: Revisiting the Queer Ecology of the "Jackass Moment"”, in Media+Environment:If gender is no longer to be understood as consolidated through normative sexuality, then is there a crisis of gender that is specific to queer contexts?
1999, Judith Butler, Gender Trouble, Routledge, published 2002, preface to 1999 edition:And yet queer and transgender people are finding a place in a lifestyle that, at least online, often occupies the same digital space as content from conservative creators, said Devin Proctor, an assistant professor of anthropology at Elon University in North Carolina who studies how we construct identities online.
2025 March 30, Scottie Andrew, “Queer and trans homesteaders are conquering the social media frontier”, in CNN:the queer community
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(dated, humorous, often) Strange, odd, or different; whimsical.
1927, J. B. S. Haldane, “Possible Worlds” in Possible Worlds and Other Papers, London: Chatto & Windus, Now, my own suspicion is that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.
Though it may seem very queer, we've got no jobs to give you here, so we are sending you to Vietnam.
1965, “Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation”, Tom Paxton (lyrics), Tom Paxton (music):When the lights popped out, when the smoke began to clear / It was positively queer
1971, David Bowie, “Bombers”:An old long-faced, long-bodied servant, gave a queer look
1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], Tales of a Traveller, (please specify |part=1 to 4), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea, […], →OCLC:“’Tis a queer book - here, leave me git on my spectacles - ” The old man fumbled among his rags, producing a pair of dirty and amazingly antique glasses (...)
1920, H. P. Lovecraft, The Picture in the House:“I wish I hadn’t cried so much!” said Alice, as she swam about, trying to find her way out. “I shall be punished for it now, I suppose, by being drowned in my own tears! That will be a queer thing, to be sure! However, everything is queer to-day.”
1865 November (indicated as 1866), Lewis Carroll [pseudonym; Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], “The Pool of Tears”, in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, London: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, pages 23–24:Of all the queer collections of humans outside of a crazy asylum, it seemed to me this sanitarium was the cup winner. […] When you're well enough off so's you don't have to fret about anything but your heft or your diseases you begin to get queer, I suppose.
1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter V, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:It looked queer to me to see boxes labeled "His Excellency, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America." The packages so labeled contained Bass ale or Cognac brandy, which cost "His Excellency" less than we Yankees had to pay for it. Think of the President drinking imported liquors while his soldiers were living on pop-corn and water!
1885, David Dixon Porter, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War, page 274:One thing has struck me as a bit queer. During my two terms of office the whole Democratic press, and the morbidly honest and 'reformatory' portion of the Republican press, thought it horrible to keep U.S. troops stationed in the Southern States, and when they were called upon to protect the lives of negroes–as much citizens under the Constitution as if their skins were white–the country was scarcely large enough to hold the sound of indignation belched forth by them for some years. Now, however, there is no hesitation about exhausting the whole power of the government to suppress a strike on the slightest intimation that danger threatens.
1877, Ulysses S. Grant, The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant: November 1, 1876-September 30, 1878, page 252:A queer look came over John Arable's face. He seemed almost ready to cry himself.
1952, E. B. White, Charlotte's Web, page 3:
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(UK, dated, informal) Slightly unwell.
Of all the queer collections of humans outside of a crazy asylum, it seemed to me this sanitarium was the cup winner. … When you're well enough off so's you don't have to fret about anything but your heft or your diseases you begin to get queer, I suppose.
1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter V, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:I felt queer after eating those shrimp.
"Well, I'm—I'm jiggered," said Peter, and his voice also sounded queer.
1951, C. S. Lewis, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia:VLADIMIR: Hope deferred maketh the something sick, who said that? / ESTRAGON: Why don't you help me? / VLADIMIR: Sometimes I feel it coming all the same. Then I go all queer.
1954, Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot, →ISBN, page 3:
- (UK, dated, slang) Drunk.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| queerer | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| queerest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| qwer | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
cisqueer · neuroqueer · queer-bashing · queerplatonic · queer as a clockwork orange · queerosexual · queerantine · queer anarchist · queer as a nine bob note · there's nowt so queer as folk · Fully Automated Luxury Queer Space Communism · queer duck · queerhood · queer as a three-dollar bill · queerness · queer parade · tenderqueer · queerspawn · queer ken · queermisia · queerism · queermisic · Queer Street · queerdom · queerable · cyberqueer · heteroqueer · queerish · queer as Dick's hatband · queernormativity · queer bashing · queer studies · genderqueer · queerspeak · queersome · postqueer · queercore · queer up · queer anarchism · queer-baiting · queerbaiting · queer-bash · queer as a three dollar bill · queer as a coot · queerize · QueerTok · queer fish · undocuqueer · queerphobia · queerbait · superqueero · queerization · queer cuffin · queerantagonism · queerly · queernormative · queerphobic · nonqueer · catch the queer · queer baiting · anarcha-queer · Quidditch · as queer as Dick's hatband · queer in the head · cripqueer · queersploitation · queer theory · queerlord · queermo · queer basher · queerdar · queery · queerious · queercrip · queer liberation · queerification · antiqueer · quare
Descendants
queer · queer · queer · квир · queer · kwir · queer · ქვიარი · kwir · kvir · Queer · kuir · квір · квир · queer · queer · קוויר · kvīrs · cuír · cuir · queer · kvääri · குயர் · cuir · queer · kuir · queer · queer · queer · kvira · קוויר · クィア
Synonyms
outré · monstrous · curious · unusual · rum · unreasonable · alien · incongruitous · peculiar · exceptional · morbid · queer as a nine bob note · errant · irregular · freakish · infect · unalike · morbific · unlike · yampy · uncommon · weirdsome · queer as a clockwork orange · rummy · homosexual · eerie · freak · weird · strange · anomalous · diseased · homophile · discrepant · extraordinary · different · selcouth · nonstandard · similisexual · incongruous · queer as Dick's hatband · funny · seld · trippy · eldritch · disease-ridden · outlandish · abnormal · differing · unexpected · aberrant · forby · rare · queer · singular · queer as a coot · unwonted · that way · hinky · bizarre · fremd · deviant · uncanny · booky · queer as a three dollar bill · odd · out of the ordinary · unhealthy · unconventional · freaky · other · morbose · quaint · kooky · queer · dissimilar · uncouth · unearthly · like that · heteroclite · infected · fey · as queer as Dick's hatband · diverse
Translations (120)
id homo (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · es soplanucas (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · id belok (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · lad kulandrero (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · no skeiv (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · no homse (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · lad kulampara (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · se bonju (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · ka ქვიარი (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · ta பால்புது (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · pt rabeta (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · es queer (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · et kväär (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · se bonju (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · no skeiv (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · gl mariqueiro (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · no soper (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · pt rabicho (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · nl homo (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · de queer (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · pt borboleta (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · pl queerowy (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · fi hintti (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · ms kuira (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · gl lareiro (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · es joto (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · uk ґейський (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · eo kvira (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · pt queer (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · gl maricallo (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · rcf kwir (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · sv queer (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · fi kvääri (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · ta குயர் (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · az mavi (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · cmn 酷兒 /酷儿 (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · eo geja (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · es maricón (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · id kwir (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · lv kvīrs (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · es non heterosexual (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · fr pédé (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · eo pederasta (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · ms kuira (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · ta பால்புதுமை (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · ca marica (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · fi homo (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · gl conequé (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · fi pervo (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · de queer (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · fi sateenkaari- (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · es cuir (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · id hombreng (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · pt bicha (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · ga aiteach (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · ka ქვიარული (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · gl lariqueiro (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · et kväär (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · es torcido (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · mk настран (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · ar كْوِير (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · hu buzi (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · fr queer (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · cmn 酷儿 (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · tr kuir (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · es marica (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · tr queer (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · az kuir (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · eo GLATa (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · pt queima-rosca (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · sv queer (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · lad kulo alegre (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · ga aiteach (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · da queer (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · zza nerimako (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · de homo (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · da bøsse (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · he קווירית (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · tr kuir lubunya (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · is hinsegin (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · uk лесбійський (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · it invertito (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · fi sateenkaari- (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · hu queer (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · fi kvääri (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · eo kvira (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · gl cazolas (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · de schwul (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · it finocchio (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · pt abafa-palhinha (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · pl queerowy (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · id maho (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · uk кві́рний (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · lad karucha (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · bg извратен (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · pt panisga (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · ru голубо́й (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · bg хомосексуален (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · pt viado (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · es julay (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · fr gay (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · ka ქვიარი (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · lad blando (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · es muerdealmohadas (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · uk гомосексуа́льний (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · he קְוִּויר (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · eo gejaĉa (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · pt panilas (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · nl homoseksueel (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · es trucha (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · it frocio (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · it omosessuale (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · de lesbisch (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · is hinsegin (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · ja クィア (pertaining to non-normative sexuality) · it checca (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · ca marieta (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · pt paneleiro (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · ru гомосексуали́ст (slang: of sexual or gender minorities) · pt bambi (slang: of sexual or gender minorities)