QUEER
What does "QUEER" mean?
Strange or odd; also used as an umbrella term for non-heterosexual or non-cisgender identity.
Meanings
- Strange, odd, or unusual. There was a queer light in the sky before the storm. archaic
- Relating to a sexual or gender identity that is not heterosexual or cisgender; reclaimed as a broad, inclusive term. She writes about queer history in the early twentieth century.
- To spoil or ruin the success of something. Don't queer the deal by mentioning the price now. informal
Did you know?
- The phrase 'queer theory' was coined around 1990 by scholar Teresa de Lauretis, marking a moment when a word long hurled as an insult was deliberately reclaimed as the name of an academic discipline.
Word origin
Probably from German 'quer' meaning 'oblique, crosswise, at odds', related to the idea of being athwart or off the straight line; the sense 'strange' is recorded from the early 16th century.
Remember it
QUEER holds a double-E, the same odd doubling that once just meant 'strange'.
A little poem
A word thrown like a stone for years-
picked up, turned over, kept:
now it opens its hand and holds them.
tercet
What it teaches
A word's meaning is never finished; the same syllable can be a wound or a banner depending on who is allowed to carry it.
Quick facts
What does QUEER mean?
Strange or odd; also used as an umbrella term for non-heterosexual or non-cisgender identity.
Is QUEER a valid word?
Yes — QUEER is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is QUEER?
QUEER has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does QUEER come from?
Probably from German 'quer' meaning 'oblique, crosswise, at odds', related to the idea of being athwart or off the straight line; the sense 'strange' is recorded from the early 16th century.
What can QUEER teach us?
A word's meaning is never finished; the same syllable can be a wound or a banner depending on who is allowed to carry it.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.