ClassInfo

queer, adj.¹

Pronunciation: Brit. /kwɪə/

U.S. /kwɪ(ə)r/

Forms:
15 - 17 queere, 15 - 17 (18 Eng. regional) quere,
16 queire, 16 quer, 16 - queer, 17 quear,
19 - querr (Irish English (north.)); Sc.pre-17 queir, pre-17 quere, pre-17 queyr, pre-17 qweir,
17 - queer, 18 - wheer (Shetland and Orkney). See also quare adj.(Show Less)

Frequency (in current use):

Origin: Perhaps a borrowing from German. Etymon: German quer.

Etymology: Origin uncertain; perhaps < (or perhaps even cognate with) German quer transverse, oblique, crosswise, at right angles, obstructive, (of things) going wrong (now rare), (of a person) peculiar
(now obsolete in this sense), (of a glance) directed sideways, especially in a surreptitious or hostile manner (now rare), (of opinion and behaviour) at odds with others (see thwart adv.), but the semantic correspondence is not exact, and the figurative senses in German are apparently much later developments than the English word.

See also queer adj.² and discussion at that entry.

1. a. Strange, odd, peculiar, eccentric. Also: of questionable character; suspicious, dubious. Cf. quare adj.

b. Sc. and Irish English. As an intensifier: = quare adj. 2.

2. Out of sorts; unwell; faint, giddy. Formerly also (slang): †drunk (obs.).

3. colloq. (orig. U.S.). Of a person: homosexual (frequently derogatory and offensive). In later use: denoting or relating to a sexual or gender identity that does not correspond to established ideas of sexuality and gender, especially heterosexual norms.