Quean definition

kwēn

A woman regarded as being disreputable, especially a prostitute.

noun

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A prostitute.

noun

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A bold, brazen woman; hussy.

noun

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(scots) A young woman.

noun

2

1

(scot.) A girl or unmarried woman.

noun

2

1

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(Scotland) A young woman, a girl; a daughter. [from 15th c.]

noun

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noun

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A woman, now especially an impudent or disreputable woman; a prostitute. [from 10th c.]

noun

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Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:

quean

Plural:

queans

Origin of quean

Middle English quene from Old English cwene woman gwen- in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From Middle English quene (“young, robust woman"), from Old English cwene (“woman, female serf"), from Proto-Germanic *kwenÇ (“woman"), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷḗn (“woman"). Cognate with Dutch kween (“a barren woman, a barren cow"), Low German quene (“barren cow, heifer"), German dialectal Kan, Chan (“woman, wife"), Swedish kvinna (“woman"), Icelandic kona (“woman"), Gothic 𐌵𐌹𐌽𐍉 (qino, “female, woman"), 𐌵𐌴𐌽𐍃 (qens, “wife"). More at queen.

From Wiktionary